The Fall of a Titan
by TeamAwesomeLives
Summary: After America Chavez became the first-ever Quarter Quell victor, plans for revolution started to fall into place. Now, SHIELD is barreling toward toppling President Thanos, but to get there, they have to resurrect dead tributes and put a few other things in place. What they don't know, though, is that Hydra is poised to get in their way as soon as they create a power vacuum...
1. Beyond the Games

**Notes: Well, hello there! Welcome to the next installment of this universe. If you missed the other ones, "The End of Childish Games" just ended, and "There Will Be No Kneeling" was before that. ;)**

 **Just a recap: This story is a continuation of the universe that began in a collaboration that several writers participated in called "In the End You Always Kneel." Several of us didn't like the twist at the end and went Marvel-only with our own universe, and starting with "There Will Be No Kneeling," we've been running with it ever since.**

 **Previously in the 867 universe, the first-ever Quarter Quell saw America Chavez as its victor, and the fallout from the Games prompted Nick Fury to set a date for the revolution against Thanos: the first night of America's victory tour.**

 **But revolution is messy, and there is still a lot to do between then and now...**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Beyond the Games**

* * *

 _July 25_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Coulson was looking particularly pleased with the world in general when he gathered the Tahiti kids for a quick, impromptu briefing on the state of things. He watched the former tributes file in with a smirk on his face — and only once they were all there and quiet did he start the briefing.

"I trust you've all been watching the various televised events after the Games?" he asked.

"Gotta keep up with my best friend somehow," Kate pointed out. She was dealing with the fact that America was the newest victor — and would therefore not be joining the resurrected group — a lot better now, but Coulson knew that it had been a hard adjustment to make.

"Ditto," Kurt said as he bumped her shoulder with his.

Coulson let the smirk stretch into a small smile. "Good. I'm glad to hear it. We have a few things to nail down and work out, and my team topside will be working pretty much nonstop until the tour … but, one thing has been finalized across the board, and I thought you should all know: the revolution will be starting the first day that all of the victors find themselves in the Capitol during the victory tour." He let it hang in the air for a moment, enjoying the expressions of both shock and relief on most of their faces.

Of course, every single one of them broke into grins, though it took a little longer for some than others to go from shock to excitement. And Wade was the most vocal about it as he wrapped Coulson up in a hug. "Oh, at last! _All_ the good stuff happens after that!" he giggled delightedly.

"Alright, alright," Coulson said as he patted Wade's arm, since he'd caught him up from the side instead of head-on, and that was all Coulson could reach. "We'll have a signal — yet to be worked out, of course — but timing wise, it will be at the end of the first night of parties before any one of our victors leaves."

"And then we can work on moving _on_ ," Peter said with a little nod.

"That will likely be an immediate issue," Coulson said. "Which is something that we needed to discuss, even though there are several months between now and then."

He looked up at them all for a moment. "When this happens, we will _not_ be returning here. Instead, we'll be moving to a secondary, larger base, where we'll stage for the remainder of the war... provided all goes to plan."

"So what d'you need us to do, boss?" Clint asked easily. "Pack up all the stuff we don't have?"

"Although you haven't had much in the way of possessions, anything you do have will need to be removed, as your identities will still be a secret until a later date."

"To everyone except a few … additional victors?" Kurt asked pointedly, obviously thinking of Logan and sharing a look with Kate.

"I'm afraid not," Coulson replied. "Not yet."

"Why?" Kate asked, the excited look dying in an instant.

He looked uncomfortable for a moment as he drew in a deep breath. "We'll need to get them settled in and be sure that they're all … stable before we can move forward. We're sure that some of them will need some serious time with Charles Xavier before we drop anything like this in their laps."

"Then we just need Charles to clear them?" Peter asked.

"I wish it were that simple," he replied.

"Of course it's not," Kate muttered. "Why would it be simple?"

"There are ties outside of those you know about that need to be addressed," Coulson admitted. "And some of them have to go through Fury."

"So we'll go through him," Kurt surmised.

Coulson smirked his way with a look of pure amusement. "I'm sure they'll be able to handle it."

"So besides depersonalizing and hanging on Charles' every word for when the victors get let in on the plan…." Clint cut in.

"Lots of training," Coulson said. "A few missions where and when we need them, and we'll even have a concrete number from Quill on the number and placement of Nova Corps when we get down to business."

"And making sure the next round of kids can hold their own before we do anything else," Luke said with a little nod. "This isn't much time, and none of them are awake yet."

"The next round of kids … will probably be more on the team to move our operations from here to the new place. There isn't enough time or personnel to get them all trained up for combat before the fun stuff begins," Coulson said. "Though they will do some mild work before we move."

"That's good," Peter said, nodding seriously.

"What's the new place going to be like, anyway?" Cassie asked. "Will we still be underground?"

"It'll be much bigger than this one," Coulson said with a nod and a frown. "And no, most of it will be above ground, though I don't believe that you'll have much of a view, all things considered." He looked at the frown on her face and smirked before he had to give them a little piece of good news. "The largest part of the resistance will all be there. In one building."

"That would certainly make it easier once we combine the forces," Kurt agreed.

Coulson smirked his way. "Yes, I'd imagine if certain people take too long, the chances of an accidental crossing of lines happening are far greater. Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Just an idea," Kate agreed, grinning right back at him.

"You've already crossed paths with Fury's personal little strike force — you can bet that once the move happens, we'll be sharing operatives far more often."

"But in disguise," Peter said with a frown.

"Yes," he agreed. "They need to stay secret as badly as you do."

"All these secrets are giving me a headache," Kate complained. "Can't we just all work together like normal people? Once we've declared rebellion, why not just… _declare_ things?"

"That comes later, Katie-bug," Wade mock whispered to her. "Then it gets interesting."

"My intention is to seamlessly combine both sides, but I'm not going to lie to you — Fury is reluctant to agree with me," Coulson said. "However, that may change."

"It _will_ change," Kurt corrected him.

"Well, we did get a firm date," Coulson agreed with a little smirk. "Let's hope that forward trend continues." He was smiling to himself; he knew that they didn't know how the final decision on timing had come to pass, but it was still amusing to him.

"Thanks, Van Helsing," Wade beamed his way.

"Not my doing, sad to say," he replied. "But … I'll have new training regimens for everyone by Monday."

"Gotta get ready for a war, after all," Clint said with a shrug. "Makes sense."

Coulson nodded and then picked up his arm to catch their attention right as the kids started to file out. "I'm going to need all our snipers," he said. "New course. I need to know where you all rate and if anyone has any trouble picking off a royal if need be."

"Not a lick of trouble," Clint said, already grinning as Wade bounced in place next to him, his arm in the air. "Pick me."

"Oooh, ooh," Wade said as he pushed Clint out of the way. "I'm your guy. Me. Right here."

"Um, I believe you want the _Better_ Hawkeye," Kate said, shoving her way in between both of them.

"I want all of you," Coulson assured them. "It's just a matter of who needs to be at what point and what distances you're all most effective. I know, for example, the last time I looked at your assessments, Wade did best with the longest distance, while Clint was best with multiple targets in one shot, and Kate … appropriately enough, was keeping her crown as the Trickshot master."

"It's what makes the Hawkeyes teamup the best in the universe — all of them," Wade said, nodding sagely.

"We've already picked out some good vantage points from the staging run," Kate said, ignoring the fact that Wade had put himself in the 'Hawkeyes' for the six hundredth time.

"And this will just be to make sure that your picks mesh best with your specialties," Coulson replied.

"I'm going to start painting the practice targets blue and green," Wade stage whispered.

"Just blue and green?" Cassie asked. "Because there is a giant ugly purple one too."

"Well, if I paint them purple, my fellow Hawkeyes might get antsy," Wade pointed out.

"They don't _own_ the color," she giggled.

"Oh, sure they do! Haven't you seen them _own_ those purple bows and the purple sui- ooooh. Right. Later. That's later," Wade said, nodding.

"I love your brand of crazy," she said with a little amused laugh.

He grinned broadly at her and swept over to pick her up in a little spin. "Oh, just you wait, Cassielang. When we're all bedecked in brightest colors…." He gave her a little wink. "You and I will look marvelous in a matched red and black."

"I'm pretty sure we're stuck with straight black for a while," she said as she hugged him back.

"And I do look good in basic black, too," he nodded along. "In fact … I will probably keep it even after we get the bright ones. Same design … but black and gray. It will be impressive."

"We'll have a program set up for you in the simulation room that will simulate the conditions for the victory tour," Coulson said, drawing the attention of the snipers back to the plan. "And we'll have Stark keep it updated with the most recent intel — so you three will know exactly where you're going when this thing does go down."

"I'm just counting the days, Agent Dad," Wade said.

"I thought he was Agent Van Helsing," Kate laughed.

"No, not any more," Wade said. "He's got some real character development going on. He's _transitioning._ "

"You can't change it now; I haven't exhausted all my Dracula jokes yet," Clint chuckled.

"Oh, there are more?" Natasha cut in, one eyebrow raised his way; she hadn't left the room yet and was watching the interaction with a muted smile. " _Why_."

"Why not?" Clint asked with a shrug, and she shook her head at him — though she couldn't hide the little smirk all the same.

* * *

 _District Seven_

* * *

For reasons unknown to Logan, Creed had been MIA on the trip back to Seven, making for an incredibly quiet and peaceful trip. Which only had him waiting for the other shoe to drop. It had to.

But there was no trouble. Not on the train, or even once they got there, and he made his way back to his cabin more or less alone and in silence.

He managed to get all of about an hour of time alone just to stand there and look around at the place with a growing frown before Heather made her appearance.

She ran right to him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "How are you holding up?" she asked him in a voice that was quavering with her own hidden emotion.

"Better than you, by the sounds of it," Logan told her before he tightened up the hug.

"It's been… quiet," she said softly.

"I'll bet," he said. He let a few moments pass, and though he really didn't want to be the one to breach the subject — sure that they would be upset with him — he couldn't stop himself. "How are the kids doing?"

"It's not the first time someone from the orphanage…" She trailed off. "They'll be okay. Most of them are sleeping in my house right now," she admitted.

He nodded but still didn't let her go, instead adjusting his arms so it was more of a bear hug.

"They want to see you again, but I wasn't sure… it was your first year being a mentor. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm always alright," he replied quietly.

"That's why I always ask," she retorted. "You were the one in the Capitol. I saw what you did for Scott." She hugged him even tighter as she said it.

His eyes widened for a moment — he'd of course forgotten about that entirely. "He was done after he killed that girl."

"I know," Heather agreed. "I saw. But thank you all the same."

"For what?" he asked, finally letting up on the hug to look her in the face.

"For not giving up on him," Heather said.

"That wasn't ever an option, Heather."

She smiled softly at him and nodded.

Lgoan let out a little huff and took a step back to reach into his front shirt pocket. There wasn't anything that he could do to soften this, and he figured it was best to get it out of the way while they had a bit of privacy. "Jubes gave me these to bring back," he said. "Looked like it had your name written all over 'em." He didn't really look her in the eyes as he put the sparkling red cufflinks into her hand. "I don't know what to do with 'em."

Heather stared down at the cufflinks for a moment before she closed her hand around them and positively fell apart into Logan's shoulder.

Logan pulled her back into a bear hug and let her get it all out, resting one hand on the back of her head as she curled in. He should have known that was going to happen, and he was glad in that moment that the kids weren't pouring through the doors on top of everything else, but if he thought about it …. Heather was probably playing scout before the kids came. Just a matter of time.

"They ... they were a birthday present," Heather choked out as she tried to explain away her total meltdown when she had half her breath back — though of course, saying it out loud only set her off all over again.

With that, Logan realized that it wasn't going to pass anytime soon. He scooped her up and carried her to the couch to sit down. She was going to fall down if he didn't anyhow.

"I wanted him to have something nice for his sixteenth birthday," Heather whispered. "And we… couldn't get the paperwork through ... they wouldn't accept Mac's request when we sent it in…."

"Paperwork for what?" he asked, totally confused on what she was talking about.

"We wanted to make it official," Heather explained miserably. "We wanted to just … adopt him."

"Heather," he barely breathed out before he pulled her that much tighter. "I had no idea."

"We didn't want to tell anyone. You know how hard it is for Sentinels to get any clearance like that," she said, still half holding onto his neck as she tried to regain some of her composure. "Didn't want to get his hopes up…." Her voice choked off, and she suddenly took Logan in a tighter grip, and he simply let her cry it out until she was done.

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kurt had wanted to check up on Logan as soon as the victors were all sent home, but the distraction of Coulson's announcement had taken up most of the day. Kate had taken to grabbing him and kissing him passionately every time she saw him because she had the excuse of 'celebrating' the date being set for the revolution — and he wasn't complaining, but it meant it had taken him a good long time to get back to his room where the tablet Tony had set up for him was waiting.

His timing was accidentally perfect, though, because about the same time he pulled up the footage from Logan's house on his tablet, Heather arrived at Logan's house, and Kurt was able to hear most of the conversation as it happened.

He was glad to see that there was someone in Logan's life checking up on him, as Heather's first concern seemed to be Logan's welfare, but then as the conversation went on, as Kurt watched the young Sentinel's wife fall apart on his best friend's shoulder, he had to lean back and away from what he was watching. It was hard to see that raw grief up close — though now at least he knew how Logan knew his tribute before the Games started.

It was hard to watch because it was so familiar. He'd seen the same look on Peter's face, Kate's, Steve's, Cassie's — and they _knew_ about the Tahiti process.

"Knock knock," said a voice at the door, and he looked up to see Kate leaned in the doorway with a small smile. "What're you all hidden away here for, my gorgeous little Elf?"

He gestured to the tablet wordlessly and shook his head, his good humor from earlier momentarily gone. She settled into the spot next to him and watched over his shoulder for a moment, in time to hear some of what Heather and Logan were talking about — though they had moved on to talking about the kids; she hadn't been in time for the most important stuff.

"The boy from Seven was … he knew him."

"Yeah, we figured that out," Kate said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"No," Kurt said. "I don't completely understand, but … there was some connection with this Heather woman. She wanted to adopt him."

"Oh." Kate looked down at the tablet to see how carefully Logan was hugging Heather. " _Oh_. That… oh."

"It makes me wonder about the small girl army now," Kurt said. "They were all orphans too."

"You think they were also part of the group…?"

"He certainly seemed the type to want to help the smaller ones, don't you think?" Kurt asked with one eyebrow raised.

Kate glanced his way and then let out all her breath. "Yeah. Yeah. I see what you're saying." She took a deep breath. "But you know, all that makes me want to do is go find him and hug him _right now_."

"We should offer to be the ones to show him around," Kurt decided. "I'm sure Charles will be alright with that."

"Absolutely," she agreed. "And we'll see who's awake by then, too. I mean, he was up on the roof with Kitty and everyone, right? The more the merrier."

Kurt nodded his agreement before he simply kissed Kate a little more deeply than before.

* * *

 _July 27_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Bobbi smiled to herself as the last of the security measures to Tahiti came unlocked for her, and she pushed through the last door with a sigh of relief. It was good to be back.

She knew where to go first, too. Not necessarily where she was supposed to go — which was to check in with Coulson and Charles and find out who was up from the revivals and who she wanted to help train. She could do that in a while.

Right now, she didn't want to do one more thing until she'd done something _she_ wanted to do, and that was find a certain blonde archer that she was sure would be in the simulator practicing for the big day. She'd seen Fury and Hill's plans and knew he was one of the snipers they would have on the royal family.

She was right, too. There he was shooting through the simulator with Kate, though when Kate saw Bobbi come in, she called immediately for a pause.

"What, you getting tired, Katie Kate?" Clint teased as he came from his hiding place.

"Really?" Bobbi called out. "You didn't spot the blonde, Hawkeye?"

Clint broke into a _huge_ grin when he saw her, and Kate slipped out of the room wordlessly — though her expression said volumes.

"Long time no see, stranger," Clint said as Kate cut the simulation from the outside and the two of them found themselves no longer in the Capitol but instead standing in the large room grinning at each other.

"I was starting to think that you'd forget about me while I was gone," she said with a little smile.

"Not a chance," he said before he ran over and spun her around in a hug that lifted her off her feet and ended in a kiss. "Oh man, I _missed_ you, Bob."

"What did you guys do this whole time?" she asked. "Had to be boring."

"Oh, nothing much," Clint said. "Ran a few missions here and there. Saw the parade outfits, by the way. Nothing next to you. Oh, and I stopped by Two for a bit." He grinned at her. "And how 'bout you? How was dealing with the snake?"

"I wasn't sure it was possible, but she's a lot scarier than she seems," Bobbi admitted. "And I wish I could say it was just talk, but it's … it's really not."

Clint frowned at that and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. "Never heard you get scared before."

"Not exactly scared," she said. "More like … a very healthy respect level."

"Mmhmm." He kissed her again. "Whatever you say, Bob. You get too respectful, though, you let me know, huh? Don't mind breaking you out of Two if I have to."

"Thankfully, she thinks I have other reasons to be here, so I'm not too worried about it for now," she said with a tight smile. "But because of the interest, I'm going to have to go back before she gets suspicious."

"That — that is just wrong," Clint said, frowning at her. "Two months, Bob, and she still gets to set your schedule?"

She let out a sigh and blinked up at him for a moment. "It's part of my job."

"Checking up on the snake woman. C'mon, Bobbi, she's creepy as all get out, and I _know_ it freaks you out, the stuff she does in Madripoor."

"Am I arguing with you?" she said. "No, I am not. But since when do we get to pick our jobs?"

He shook his head at her. "You can say no. I know you won't, but you _could_. Just tell Fury you're sick of her face, and come stay here full-time. Got a whole new batch of kids to train up pretty soon here, you know."

"Honestly, if there was someone else that _could_ do this job, I _would_ say no."

Clint almost laughed as he took her in a little tighter hold. "Guess that's my fault — dating someone so good at her job she can't say no," he teased.

She smiled lightly and shrugged. "It's a curse."

"Must be, because I _know_ it's not bad taste," he countered, pulling her into another kiss. "Sure I can't convince you somehow? Or is this just a 'make the most of the visit' kind of drive-by?"

"Convince me of what? Quitting?"

"Yeah, I guess that was ambitious of me wasn't it," he teased.

"Your concern is charming," she said before she pulled him into another kiss. "Very chivalrous."

"Just trying to take care of the girl I care about," he said.

She grinned at him for a moment. "I think you need to find us some more blind spots."

"Found a few while you were gone," he promised with a twinkle in his eye. "I think I'd better show you now, before we move to a different location."

"Oh, you think it's going to happen that quick?" she asked. "By my count, we have a few months."

"So much can happen in a few months. You could disappear on me again," he pointed out. "No, no, I think I'm right on this, Bob."

"I think you are too," she agreed.


	2. New Normal

**(A/N): Seriously, Wade is hilarious and we love him to itty bitty pieces omg.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: "New Normal"**

* * *

 _July 28_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kurt had just left his room after he'd once again peeked in on his friend through his tablet and was headed to talk to Charles about a few questions he had concerning who was getting the victors out when the revolution finally started, but Charles met him coming the other way in the hall with a bright smile.

"Oh, good," he said, his smile obvious. "I was hoping to catch you. I have a tour for you to give, if you're interested."

"Of course," Kurt said quickly, falling into step beside Charles as the victor wheeled himself down the hall. "I was actually hoping to talk with you too."

"Well the floor is yours, Mr. Wagner," he replied easily. "What's on your mind?"

"It's Logan, actually," Kurt said. "I know he knew the tribute he was mentoring this year before the Games — and Coulson admitted it wasn't a random draw. I'm sure Logan knows it wasn't either, and I'm just… worried about him," he admitted. "I don't think he's taking it well."

"He seemed very engaged in the Capitol," Charles said earnestly. "And he was picking on Peter Quill rather relentlessly, from what I was told." He whispered the next bit out. "I only know that because the other victors that were there for it were rather horrified at his means of getting Quill to relax."

"Did it work?" Kurt asked with one eyebrow raised, knowing Logan wouldn't pick on someone in Quill's position if he didn't think it would help.

"It … certainly seemed to do the trick at the time," Charles admitted. "Though it was not a path that I would have attempted or recommended."

"That sounds about right for him," Kurt said with a little smile before he let out a breath. "I don't think the Logan you see in the Capitol is the same one who comes home to Seven, though. That's my worry."

"I'm certain you're right," Charles agreed. "However, I can't get him to speak with me yet, try though I might."

They reached the medical wing about that time, and Kurt paused outside the entrance. "When you bring back Scott, Kate and I would like to be there for the tour," he said.

Charles gave him a kind smile. "You know I can't divulge the names on the list," he said. "If he's revived, then for him, you are at the top of it. However … today, I hope to welcome someone a little bit closer to home for you."

The two of them finally stepped into the little observation room with the two-way glass that looked into the sterile-looking room they used to awaken Tahiti patients. And on the bed, all cleaned up and whole, was a very familiar face.

"Kitty," Kurt breathed out, his eyes wide as the smile slowly started to overtake him.

"Of course, it's completely coincidental that you've been doing the best job waking these people up ... "

"Charles." Kurt turned to face him. "Can I go in first — is there anything — it wasn't rough for her?"

"You know everything there is to know," he said. "But I'll go in with you to start. I don't want her thinking her previous condition is permanent."

"Right. Of course," Kurt said, the smile ever widening as he kept glancing at the girl on the bed.

"It will be good practice for you anyhow," Charles said. "In the event that I'm not around for any of the others waking up."

"Why wouldn't you be?" Kurt asked curiously.

"I do have other business to attend to," he replied with an enigmatic smile. "Appearances to be kept, and … appointments outside of Tahiti."

"And you think I can step in?" Kurt seemed flabbergasted — and pleased as well.

"You have a natural gift for helping people," Charles said. "Yes, if you know most of the answers, I think you can help."

"I'll do what I can," Kurt promised as he opened the door to Kitty's room and slipped inside with Charles, waiting for his best friend from back home to open her eyes and join the rest of them.

They didn't have too long to wait, and Kurt's focus jumped from her face to the monitor that was showing an increased heartbeat and back to her face as she began to stir. Charles rested his hand on Kurt's arm until the girl turned her head slightly and let out a little noise as if she was trying to find her voice in the back of her throat before she started to very blearily blink her eyes open.

"Welcome back, Katherine," Charles said in his gentlest tone.

She seemed surprised at his voice and glanced around the room for a moment, her gaze falling on Charles, on Kurt — back to Kurt again, and back to Charles. "What…?"

Charles let out a breath that he clearly didn't realize he was holding. "I'm so glad to see you awake, Miss Pryde," he told her.

"I'm glad to be too…. I think," she said, frowning between the two. "Kurt…?"

Kurt grinned at her and nodded his head. "I've missed you, _katzchen,_ " he told her before he couldn't wait another minute longer and simply stepped around Charles to give her a warm hug.

She didn't quite seem to believe it was him until she heard the nickname, and then she did her level best to squeeze the life out of him with what muscle strength she had. "You're _alive_!" she managed to eke out before she paused and held him at arm's length. "You _are_ alive, right? You've seen him too?" she asked, this time toward Charles.

"Yes, I am, as are the both of you," Charles assured her. "You've been chosen to participate in a secret program designed to bring back lost tributes."

"Oh. Okay." Kitty nodded, but she didn't seem to really care about _why_ they'd been brought back yet as she turned to Kurt and hugged him all over again.

"If you're feeling well, then I'll leave you to your friend to show you around," Charles said. "I do hope to see you in my office soon, though."

"I'll make sure to bring her by," Kurt promised, grinning widely.

"In that case," Charles said before he offered Kitty his hand. "It's been a pleasure to meet you, my dear."

"Thanks. It was nice to meet you too," she said with a smile, though almost as soon as the door had closed behind Charles, the smile slipped, and she turned to Kurt to smack him in the arm. " _How long_ have you been alive and I didn't _know about it_?" she demanded of him.

He shrugged sheepishly. "About a year. But it's a top secret program — we're preparing to overthrow the Capitol."

"You — you — I _cried_ when you died and you've been here…. Ugh!" She smacked him once more for good measure.

He caught her arm. "I would have been there in a heartbeat if I could have told you," he promised.

She held his gaze in a glare for a moment before she finally relented — and hugged him tightly again, relieved to see him and afraid he'd disappear. "So," she said when she'd released him. "Secret program. Who else is here, or is it just for us Nines?"

"Oh no," he said with a smile. "Not just Nines. There are a pair of scientists from Seven, a couple of old Careers … and quite a few from the outliers. When you feel you're ready — you can meet them yourself."

"Lead the way," she said, sweeping her legs off the cot so she could get to her feet.

She wobbled a bit when she got herself upright; Kurt wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she put her arm around his back as the two old friends started down the hall. "I didn't know they were bringing you in," Kurt admitted. "I had hoped, of course."

"They don't tell you?" Kitty asked, scrunching her nose. "Why not?"

"The process doesn't always work properly, and they don't want to raise anyone's hopes before they know for sure."

"I guess that makes sense," she admitted. "So… where is everyone? You said there were a few. Anyone from my Games that I'd know?"

"Did you know the girl from Five?" he asked. "Her name is Jessica. She was the first, but there are several from mine … and a few from years before."

"Anyone _you_ knew? I mean…. You said there were plenty from the outliers."

" _Katzchen,_ " he said. "I knew many people." He was clearly teasing her and loving every second of it.

"Stop dragging it out, you dramatic, ridiculous … ugh. Where are they?"

"It's my duty to show you the sights," he said before he took her the longest route though the areas he knew were unoccupied to get a rise out of her and build the suspense until, finally, he ran out of luck with Cassie and Wade in the cafeteria. "Ah. From my Games," he said. "Wade Wilson from One."

"I'm not sure I…" Kitty trailed off.

Wade jogged over to them before Kitty could protest and he took one of her hands in both of his with a broad, warm smile. "Kitty cat!" he said as if they'd been friends for years. "Oh. Em. Gee! How lucky is it that you're our next little zombie, huh?" He kept shaking her hand with a truly delighted expression. "Am I your first? Outside of the bamf-master here, of course."

Kitty gaped at him before she looked over her shoulder at Kurt and mouthed 'bamf-master?'

"No one understands half of what he's talking about," Kurt assured her. "It's better not to ask."

"That's not true. It's more fun if you ask," Cassie cut in, though she did steal Kitty away from Wade all the same. "Hi there. Cassie Lang. I was in the Games two years before Kurt."

"She's the best one here," Wade whispered, and Cassie flushed with pleasure at the compliment.

"It's… nice to meet you both," Kitty said, trying to restrain a smile as she clearly and quickly clued in to the fact that the two of them were a couple.

"See you around, Kitty cat," Wade said with a bright twinkle in his eyes before he reached forward and kissed her on the cheek, waited all of two seconds, and did the same to Kurt — then walked off with Cassie.

"I'm really sure I've never met him before," Kitty said, shaking her head.

"He's very affectionate," Kurt said as he tried to wipe the kiss off his cheek.

"Yeah, I see that." Kitty shook her head once more before she had to pause and grin. "They seemed cozy."

"They are quite cozy," Kurt agreed with a smirk.

"Is that a common thing?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

"It's becoming more common," he said with an easy nod, clearly trying to deflect for the big reveal. But he didn't have long to keep it to himself, as the next stop was the _very_ busy training room. "And here is where we all practice," he told her, watching her face at the sheer _number_ of ex-tributes from his year.

She was slightly wide-eyed and had her mouth parted open as she looked them all over, but when she spotted the dark-haired girl from Twelve practicing her short staves with Bobbi, she spun on her heel to face Kurt and then hit him _hard_ in the arm. "You … you jerk!" She was grinning as she said it. "You totally have to introduce me! I _have_ to meet and approve of her. You know that, right?"

"I'm sure she'll introduce herself," he laughed before he turned and called for Kate.

Kate glanced over from what she was doing, broke into a _huge_ grin when she saw the two of them, and rushed over as soon as Bobbi gave her the nod to join them. "I'm so glad you came back so quick! Kurt's been living and dying with every day waiting for you!" she beamed.

Kitty frowned on seeing Bobbi but ignored it in favor of meeting _Kurt's girlfriend._ "I … am happy to meet you, but at the same time … _what the heck?_ " Kitty said. "What's the big idea hiding him away from _me_?"

Kate held up both of her hands. "I did no such thing," she insisted. "Not _my_ idea to make this a super secret club."

Kitty rolled her eyes and made a quick dash to give Kate a hug too. "You better be good to him …" she said quietly in her ear.

"Always," Kate said just as quietly back before she took a step back and grinned. "So, has Kurt given you the whole tour of the place?"

"That's what he was doing when we got here," Kitty told her before she turned Kurt's way to give him a withering look. "And he was _dragging it out_ on the way here. Dramatic."

Kurt didn't look bothered in the least as he grinned at two of his favorite girls in the world. "It was worth the wait, wasn't it?" he defended.

"He's a dramatic little Elf," Kate said with a little smirk Kitty's way. "But I like him anyway."

"Good," Kitty replied. "And yes, it was worth the wait." She linked arms with Kurt, with Kate on his opposite side. "Please, good sir … continue the tour."

* * *

 _August 1_

 _District Seven_

* * *

Logan had been back to Seven for an entire week. He'd barely left the house, and he was still weary and worn from earlier when the orphans finally came around to say hello. It hadn't been the most cheerful of occasions, either. They had all filed in with sad little faces, and instead of jumping and giggling as he was used to seeing them do as they tried to tackle him to the ground, it was a rush of sad little hugs that attached themselves to him until he was more or less trapped anyhow.

He'd tried to hug them back, and no one said a word until Mac suggested they watch a movie on Logan's television — and then it was a matter of who got to sit next to or on Logan, with the bulk of them piled up around him tightly anyhow. The tiniest of them had, of course, fallen asleep mid movie on his lap and stayed that way until the movie was over and they all were looking like they were ready to go to sleep.

Mac scooped up the tiny one, and the two men shared a look that had Mac nodding. "Waiting on papers."

That had closed the night out for him. Once the last of them had left, Logan was just done. Mac had no way to know that papers weren't going to mean jack in a few months. And he'd probably be running from the law — since there was no way in hell Logan could see Mac staying with the Sentinels and pushing the district into line.

He was just wondering how long he had before Fury came looking — considering a month or three in the woods alone — when there was a knock on the door.

He let out a breath and headed to answer the knock when it was apparent that the knocker wasn't going to simply come barging in.

The last person he expected to see when he opened the door was his grandfather.

"You never came to speak with me," the old man said with a scowl, leaning heavily on his cane before he pushed his way past Logan and into the house, looking around the place with a critical eye. "I suppose you think this place suits you better than your home on the hill. Where you belong."

Logan let out a sigh and closed the door behind his grandfather and turned to follow him. There was no escaping him now. Not when he wasn't even up to arguing with him about anything. "You made it clear that I don't belong anywhere near there," Logan said as he walked a few paces behind him. "And that I'm not any relation of yours. So what the hell are you doing here?"

Old Man Howlett took a seat and looked up at Logan as he came to a stop — both of them watching the other. "I'm trying to fix my mistake." The two of them kept stared at each other for a moment, though neither of them moved a muscle.

"Nothing to fix. No reason for you to put yourself out talking to me. I know where I rank."

"I don't think you do, son."

Logan stilled before he very slowly shook his head. "You don't have to do this."

The old man let out a long sigh. "Yes, I do. Sit down and hear me out. Please."

Logan looked more wary as he cautiously crossed the room and took a seat opposite him, though the way he was sitting clearly expressed how uncomfortable he was to anyone back at SHIELD that was surely watching as the old man had a long, very one-sided talk with his only living grandson.

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Birthdays in Tahiti took some getting used to, and it was the first time Peter had _really_ been in the Tahiti program for his birthday, since last time he'd been dead and shared a party with Kurt as an afterthought.

But there was so much going on. Staging for the revolution. Lots and lots of training. The SHIELD higher-ups wanted them to be as prepared as possible before they did this thing, since, well, it wasn't like they could exactly find as much time to train once they were fighting a _war_.

And on top of that, there was the fact that they'd need to pack up and leave in a few months, so half the kids were sitting on their hands for personalization. Ororo had asked Coulson to find something that she could use to transport Steve's drawing of her without ruining it — and there were a few other odds and ends like that. But otherwise, they were sort of going for the Spartan look for simplicity's sake.

Which was fine; it just meant no one was quite sure what to do for Peter for his birthday. Kurt got it out of him what his favorite food was for dinner, and Wade of course insisted on a cake and singing — but for the most part, with everything else going on, Peter was fine letting the day pass him by.

Besides, what he _really_ wanted wasn't a sure thing. So it felt a little weird blowing out candles and making a wish when the people who could make it happen, who could bring Gwen back, were a few hallways down and probably working on her. They had to be. She was brilliant and it would be a total waste to let her go.

He had sort of hoped she would be back by now. Natasha had told him she came back right at the start of August, and she'd been crushed by half a mountain worth of building. Surely that was easier to fix than falling off an actual mountain. Right?

Still, Coulson gave him the same story whenever he asked — for, oh, maybe the nine-hundred and sixty-eighth time — _if_ Gwen was coming back and when. Or _if_ they were going to bring back that sweet little kid from Eleven so they could round out the spider roster. Coulson wouldn't tell him, didn't want him to get his hopes up.

Personally, Peter was absolutely fine with getting his hopes up. He was totally fine with that if it meant Gwen's name was on the list. That's all he wanted. He wanted them to bring her back.

But his birthday came and went, and there was no sign of any movement on that front. Dinner, cake, a cheesy movie — the little party his friends threw for him came and went, and still there was no sign of movement. So now he was sitting upside down on his bed trying to hit the exact same spot on his ceiling with the sticky webbing he and Tony had been working on perfecting. _Thwip. Thwip. Thwip_.

It was nearly lights out when Charles made his way over to Peter with a sedate smile — though it was clear he knew something that Peter didn't. "How was your day, Mr. Parker?" he asked.

Peter sat up so that his head wasn't dangling off the side of the bed. "Pretty good, actually," he said with a smile. "Kurt got me a couple books, Wade didn't try to rope anyone into spankings, so…"

"Fair enough, then," Charles said with a smirk. "Would you be so kind as to join me for a moment? I can't say that I have a gift for you ... "

Peter jumped to his feet quickly. "Sure!" he said, nodding several times over and trying not to look _too_ much like he was 'getting his hopes up,' because he'd already had _that_ talk with Coulson and Charles both in the past week or so more times than he cared to count.

"Wonderful," Charles replied, still smiling. "I hope this doesn't put a damper on your day."

"Day's pretty much over anyway," Peter pointed out.

"Yes, well. I'm sure you've heard that I've asked Kurt to help me in some of the awakenings … but I would like very much for you to help a bit as well. Cassie is wonderful as a greeter, but I would like a few more people to be well-versed — what with the way the missions are running."

"Say no more," Peter said with a fervent little nod. "I totally get it. Who _knows_ who's going to be where when things happen, right? I got your back, Professor X."

"Thank you," Charles said a moment before they reached the door to the room. "If you wouldn't mind, Mr. Parker …I'd like for you to come in with me, if you're comfortable."

Peter was already nodding as he followed Charles, though the moment he saw past Charles to the blonde in the other room, he stopped in his tracks, dropped his jaw, and then started to _laugh_. "Gwen!" he shouted before he'd even really thought about it, and when he remembered how to move again, he was already to the door to her room. He paused, turning back to Charles. "Do you need to go first, or…?" he asked, though he already had his hand on the door handle and was practically dancing in place with anticipation.

Charles smiled a bit wider at him. "I'll go with you, just to make sure she doesn't believe that she's dead, then as soon as all looks to be settled, I'll let the two of you catch up. Just don't forget to give her the tour when you're ready."

"Right. Right. Yeah. Tour. Got it," Peter said, all but bouncing with every word, though he didn't quite look like he had processed Charles' directions before he threw open the door to let himself in, beaming at the still-unconscious girl. "Best birthday ever."

The two of them waited in the room in relative silence except for the monitors and equipment, and when Gwen finally started to stir, Peter looked like he might burst with excitement, unable to keep still as he tapped his foot against the floor, drummed his fingers against his arms, sides, and the tables — anything to keep moving.

It was his fidgeting that drew her attention, too, as Gwen could hear the tapping and drumming when she started to wake up and turned her head toward the noise — her eyes widening when she saw Peter as she jerked upright to sit up, probably faster than she was quite ready to. She ended up putting a hand to her head for a moment after that. She closed her eyes against the rush of blood and then opened them again, and when Peter was still there, she gaped at him. "Peter…?"

He grinned at her and waved with the tips of his fingertips with a little 'hi Gwen' that barely made it past his lips before he was bounding over to her. He pulled her into an ecstatic, excited hug as he kept trying to start a sentence, but he had so many of them that he couldn't pick. _Welcome back_ — _no. Long time no see_ — _no. Did you miss_ — _no. I saw your Games_ — _no._

She hugged him right back, hard, still completely gobsmacked but, for the moment, not questioning why Peter was there. She kept her arms hooked around his shoulders as he kept his around her — and neither of them seemed willing to break the hug first, considering how long it had been for both of them.

She was the one to change things, though — not to break the hug but to turn her face toward him and scoot the few inches she needed to so that she could press her lips into his, her head tilted sideways to catch him out of the hug. He _grinned_ as he returned the kiss, still holding her tighter until, finally, they both broke apart, just enough to breathe, grinning and refusing to be more than an inch apart.

"I'd wish you a warm welcome back, but that seems to have been thoroughly covered," Charles said with a look of pure amusement.

Gwen finally pulled her attention away from Peter to look over at the other occupant of the room, and she looked a little pink as she cleared her throat. "Sorry, I didn't see… Hi, I'm Gwen?" she offered, as Peter sort of grinned at her and was absolutely no help at all.

"Yes, I know," he said, smiling wider. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Stacy. You can call me Charles … and with that … I believe I'll leave the rest to Peter, unless of course, he's forgotten how to speak?" But when Peter still seemed to be totally smitten, all Charles could do was smile for a long moment.

"Gwen," he said, still shaking his head at Peter. "You've been brought back by SHIELD, hopefully to help us mount a coup on Thanos' forces and remove him from power. Naturally, this is highly classified. Your participation is entirely voluntary, though, and if Mr. Parker is unable to answer your questions — I'm sure every other person in the complex would be perfectly capable, unless you have some now?"

Gwen stared at Charles for a moment, blinked, and let out a little disbelieving laugh. "Oh no — why would I have questions about that?"

Charles laughed to himself at that. "Well, then I'll leave the two of you to handle this yourselves."

Gwen watched him go for a moment and waited until she saw the door shut behind Charles before she turned back to Peter and kissed him again. Sure, she had questions, but they could wait just a little bit longer.

This time, though, when the kiss broke, she pulled back a bit further so she could properly look him over, and she shook her head with a little laugh. "You've, like, six inches taller, and — have you been lifting weights or something, because you're not paper thin anymore," she said, unable to stop grinning, especially when Peter looked pleased, nodded, and flexed his muscles.

"Oh, you noticed?" he asked.

"Stop being ridiculous; I just meant…"

"No, no. You noticed," Peter said, still grinning ever wider. "Best. Birthday. Ever."

"It's been that long?" Gwen asked, surprised as she raised her eyebrows and looked around the room a little more appraisingly. "That means it's been weeks since…"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, they didn't bring _me_ back until it was, like, mid-September. Totally missed my Sweet Sixteen and everything," Peter said.

"He said something about a tour, but all I'm hearing is that you missed out on birthday kisses," she said with a growing smile. "And … I missed some kisses too, you know."

"Right, right. That's very important," Peter said with a falsely serious expression that he was only barely able to keep together against the desire to laugh and kiss her right there. "We can go on a tour of the place anytime. I missed your Sweet Sixteen too, didn't I? So…" He grinned, shrugged up to both ears, and kissed her again.

* * *

 _August 2_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

That morning at breakfast, as everyone started to trickle in, Peter and Gwen were already getting a few looks from the other Tahiti kids. Mostly curious, though Wade made it a point to smoosh Gwen's face, kiss both of her cheeks, and welcome her to the family as soon as he arrived.

The two spiders weren't being discreet in the least, either, as Peter had one arm around Gwen's shoulders and was so _happy_ to have her there that he was more interested in stealing kisses than in actually eating anything. And that was the state of affairs when Kate and Kurt arrived.

Both of them were, of course, over the moon to see that their friend had Gwen back, and they were _especially_ happy to see that they were already so close. But there was also absolutely no way they were going to pass up the teasing opportunity, so as soon as they both had their breakfast trays, they sat down across from Peter and Gwen, wearing matching grins.

"You guys are _ridiculously_ sweet," Kate said, gesturing between the two of them with one hand even as she pulled Kurt's arm around her with the other. "It's really cute? But you _so_ can't even talk anymore, Peter. Not even we were this…. _Honeyed_."

"What? No. You guys were totally…." Peter waved a hand at them, but Kate was just shaking her head.

"Nothing wrong with it, Pete, I'm just saying if I'd known you were going to be this gooey, I wouldn't have let you get away with half the teasing about me and Kurt," she said.

"Excuse me," Gwen said, turning her head toward the pair of them. "You … you have no idea what I had to deal with. I had a whole year thinking he was dead while … while I was getting _hit on_ by another boy, thank you very much. And we didn't even get to actually _be_ a real couple before this stuff all happened so just ... so you know what? No. I will kiss him as much as I want, and if you don't like it, that's just too bad." She crossed her arms and gave them a look with Peter grinning wider next to her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Gwen Stacy has said her piece," Peter said in a low announcer-like tone.

Kate and Kurt seemed to be grinning that much wider at Gwen's pronouncement, and Kurt shook his head. "No, you misunderstand — please _do_ keep continuing to kiss the daylights out of Peter. It's good for him."

She relaxed a little bit as she looked between them and to Peter as well. "Alright. Good. Because with everything that I was trying to keep going back home … with school and trying to be tactful in avoiding Harry, and checking in on Aunt May …" She turned to Peter with a wide-eyed look of near alarm. "No one's checking in on Aunt May."

Peter lost a bit of his smile at that, and he bit his lower lip for a moment before he said, "We'll have to figure something out. I mean. The revolution's set for the beginning of January… maybe we can convince Agent Van Helsing to get her out early?"

"We should do that, because if she _knew..._ "

"Yeah, I know," Peter agreed, nodding fervently.

Her expression shifted to one that was more troublemaking. "Oh. you are in so much trouble for keeping secrets when she finds out, Peter Benjamin Parker."

He laughed and held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. "Wasn't _my_ idea. _We've_ all been saying we want to tell people, but it's dangerous to the well-being of the something or other related to revolutions and scheming. It sounds very important and convincing when Agent Coulson says it."

"I can only imagine what she'll have to say to _Mr. Coulson_ when he tries to explain it all to her," she laughed. "But as far as you're concerned, I doubt she'll see that as a reasonable excuse."

"No, you're right. I'm totally getting grounded," Peter said, nodding. "And I won't even care, because it's been a year since I've seen her, and even if she's grounding me, it means she _can_ and she's _there_ , so I don't even care." He paused and grinned at Gwen. "You'll get in trouble too, you know. _You're_ part of the secret now."

"Do you really think she's going to care that I knew for a few months when you knew for a whole year? Oh no. You … you, Mister Parker, are in all sorts of trouble."

"I'm still going to take you with me," he teased. "Because _I_ will get there first to tell her you're my girlfriend and then she'll be on you like a hawk for details. So _ha_."

She grinned wider and kissed him again. "I like the sound of that."

He dropped a bit of his look of triumph and just seemed to melt for a moment before he kissed her back. "It does sound pretty great, doesn't it?"

Kate leaned over to Kurt as the two spiders _beamed_ at each other and couldn't help but giggle. "Oh, I so very much approve of this," she whispered to him, unable to stop her own grin on seeing their friend so genuinely _gleeful._

"It's nice to see our friends so happy," Kurt had to agree, though he also had to agree with Gwen and Peter's morning routine as he slid in a bit closer to Kate and start to press little kisses to the side of her head until she turned to face him for a proper kiss.

Bruce glanced up from the book he was reading long enough to register the couples and blink at them blankly. Then, he scooped up another spoonful of oatmeal and went back to his studies. It was becoming oddly commonplace to have people show up after watching them die, and it bothered him on a subconscious level.

Sin rolled her eyes as she walked into the room. She had long since adjusted to Kurt and Kate being an item, but now even more romance was flooding the halls of the base. Gwen and Peter, not to mention a former mentor's weddings. Sin was sick of it. Nevertheless, there remained in her a kind of morbid curiosity as she watched Gwen eating with the aforementioned crew.

Standing in the doorway seemed awkward, though. And she was hungry, so Sin finally stepped forward and grabbed a bowl of cereal. As she poured milk into the bowl, the list ran through her mind unbidden.

 _Jessica Jones. Kitty Pryde. Gwen Stacy._

But still she had yet to see Crossbones. Her favorite idiot who needed a purpose was still dead, and Sinthea hated it. She scowled down at her meal, swirling the cereal around in circles and watching it float. She took the spoon and pushed pieces under the milk, drowning them. That's what she wanted to do to the Gamemakers for the entire ordeal they had all gone through, for separating her from her friend.

She caught Bruce looking her way and nodded to him as she stood, her appetite gone thanks to the list. Sinthea stashed the full bowl of milky cereal in the box for dirty dishes and left the room, a picture of calm to anyone who wasn't paying attention. She went straight to the gun range a level down.

 _Jessica Jones. Kitty Pryde. Gwen Stacy._


	3. Brains Over Brawn

**Chapter 3: Brains Over Brawn**

* * *

 _August 3_

 _Triskellion_

* * *

The young man that had been rescued from Eleven back toward the beginning of the games was not only recovering well and adapting to the loss of his leg and hand — he was thriving.

Although shocked at first when he first found out about the replacement appendages, Forge had talked one of his nurses into bringing him a tiny screwdriver set, and the young man was halfway into rewiring a few key components in his new artificial hand — using his teeth to aide him — when the situation was brought to Fitz and Simmons' attention.

"Just what the bloody hell do you think _you're_ doing?" Fitz asked as he rushed forward to try and snatch the screwdriver from Forge. "I worked on that myself, and you can bet it was perfect before you started mucking about with it."

But Forge pulled the screwdriver close to his chest protectively. "I am _not_ making it worse," he defended. "I'm improving it. I'm adjusting the grip to make it a little more sensitive. Right now, I'm crushing things a little too easily. I'd hate to see what happened if I had to shake someone's hand."

"If you were having issues with the sensitivity, you could have just _asked_ ," Fitz said, exasperated.

"And I don't _need_ to have _you_ fix it for me. I know what it needs — it's on _my_ arm," Forge countered.

Fitz still looked fit to be tied, but Simmons put a hand on his shoulder for a moment and then looked toward Forge. "Do you mind if we look it over?" she asked politely. "Just to make sure you're not making anything worse to ease Fitz' mind. He worries so."

"Worse?" Forge looked completely taken back. "This … this is what I do. _I improve things._ "

"And this is what I do," Fitz countered, gesturing at Forge's hand.

"You gave me a great starting point," Forge said with a smile. "And I appreciate it. But … it's so much more than sensitivity. It's range of motion … it's articulation, fine adjustments that are hard to communicate to someone else — and … I improved the relays." He jerked his head for them to come over. "Look but don't touch, and you'll see what I did. Though it would be better if I had a headset with magnification and a micro soldering iron."

Fitz and Simmons glanced at each other, and they shared a shrug before they did just that, looking over the modifications Forge had made as the frustrated look on Fitz' face turned to one more like admiration. Eventually, both of them were grinning to each other as they took a step back. "We can get you a headset and a micro soldering iron," Simmons assured him.

"And maybe a few other things," Fitz said, nodding to himself as he thought it over.

"Great!" Forge said smirking. "I'd like to make a few more fine adjustments, but right now, I'm just about to the point that I think I can hold an egg without crushing it. Before, I was breaking glasses."

"Oh, well, let's see if we can get an even finer sensitivity," Simmons said with a little twinkle in her eye. "Some of our equipment is fairly sensitive…"

"I'm sure it is," Forge said, though he paused as he looked between them. "Am I terribly off in assuming that I'm not … going back to Eleven?"

"Ah, well, the Sentinels know you're with the rebels," Fitz explained.

"Took 'em long enough to figure it out," Forge muttered.

"If you _want_ to, we helped relocate your friends to Nine, but there could easily be a place for someone like you here," Simmons said in a rush and with a wide smile.

Fitz nodded. "We've got some advanced projects we could use your help on if this is what you can do with a _screwdriver."_

"Here … if it's against the Capitol, then I'm in," Forge said.

The two scientists beamed at each other and nodded. "We'll talk to Coulson," Simmons assured him, already heading to the door.

"And get you the headset," Fitz chimed in.

"Oh, thanks, by the way," Forge called out before she could make it out the door. "For getting me out. And, you know, keeping me from dying."

Simmons stopped and smiled his way. "We had a lot of help," she told him with a bright smile. "We've got good teams here."

"You must," he agreed. "I'll just … wait for the equipment … unless you want to take me to a workshop or a bench even … I'm not picky."

"Well, that depends entirely on where you end up working," Simmons said, still with her eyes sparkling.

Of course, the moment the two scientists were out the door, they shared a wordless look, and it was obvious that both of them were thinking the same thing as they both rushed down to Coulson's office.

When the door opened to the two excited scientists, Coulson looked surprised for a moment before they both started to speak at once.

"You really need to let him help—"

"He could speed the process up _significantly_ —"

"I'll bet he could help with some of the weapons—"

"Who are you talking about?" Coulson asked as he looked between the two scientists.

Fitz gestured down the hall with a look that told Coulson he thought it should have been obvious. "Forge — you know, the rebel from Eleven that Logan brought back? — he's in there with a _screwdriver._ "

"I didn't realize he was tech savvy," Coulson said. "We thought he was just organizing the troops."

"Oh, no, he's been improving that arm of his," Simmons said.

Fitz nodded along with her. "And he knows what he's doing, too. He _improved_ my design, and I doubt he's had any formal training on this stuff. He's a natural."

"Well, that sounds like something that deserves to be investigated," Coulson said. "Take him to your lab. Make a test for him and see how well he can pass it — something tough. Maybe one of Stark's designs. If he can improve on that — we'll need him."

Fitz and Simmons glanced at each other with matching gleams of excitement before they started to trade off one-word sentences with each other all the way back to the lab, clearly already picking out just the test that would prove Forge as capable as they knew he was.

As it turned out, the test wasn't much of a test when he had a full lab to work with — it was more like watching a master at work. Forge focused on the task at hand, not making a sound as he started to fiddle with the mini-repulsor that Stark had made months ago. It wasn't until he'd had a solid couple of hours that Forge leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

"That's about all I can do, considering the room I've got in that thing to work with." He turned Fitz's way with a smile. "I increased the output ratio by about six if my math is right — though I was originally going for ten. Sorry about that."

"Oh, that's just lovel,y that is," Fitz said, nodding happily as he took the repulsor and examined it for himself. "The compensatory relays for the kickback are impressive," he said, still grinning wider the more he looked it over. "I'd've rerouted through the repulsor itself to feed the feedback into the output, give it a little more punch… but this is much better. More elegant."

"I was going for something that wouldn't have as much kickback," Forge admitted.

"More user-friendly," Fitz agreed.

The two of them were just starting to get into it when Coulson walked into the lab with a frown starting up. "You two getting any work done?"

Fitz looked triumphant as he all but shoved the repulsor toward Coulson. "It's a beauty, Coulson, and I couldn't have done it any better myself," he declared.

"It's a repulsor," Coulson said with his frown deepening. "What can you do to a repulsor?"

Fitz grinned over at Forge before he shook his head at Coulson. "Oh ye of little faith!" he declared as he turned the repulsor in his hand. "This is _much_ more powerful, and more focused." To demonstrate, he pointed the repulsor at some test tubes Simmons wasn't using anymore — and the refined repulsor only shattered the one on the end that Fitz had been aiming for. "Ta da!"

"Impressive," Coulson said before he turned to Forge. "Do you have a problem with being kept away from the world at large for at least the next … oh, six months?"

"Do I have things to work on that are going to fix the way this stupid country works?" Forge asked. "Because if I have something to do where I am _helping_ , then … yeah. Sign me up."

"Can I show him the labs?" Fitz asked Coulson excitedly. "You know? The _downstairs_ ones?"

"Sure," Coulson said, still examining Forge's handiwork. "Give him the grand tour. Seeing as he won't be going anywhere else for a while." He set the repulsor down very gently. "I'll get you your clearances."

* * *

Ororo was on her way down to the library to get a new book to read when she heard Fitz's voice further down the hall. He was clearly giving a tour as he described the layout of the Tahiti Wing, and Ororo paused at the door to the library, curious to see who was up that had been assigned Fitz, of all people, as a tour guide.

When the two men came around the corner, it took Ororo a good long moment to realize who she was looking at, mostly because Forge had an obvious _metal arm_ now, and that had been the first thing she noticed. But after a few seconds, the recognition clicked in, and she hardly hesitated to throw herself into a run and fling her arms around her old friend's neck with a delighted laugh.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

Forge was stunned into speechlessness for a moment — in part because Fitz's explanation of this wing had been mostly directed to the labs and the technical components, and he simply wasn't expecting to see Ororo of all people — considering she was supposed to be _dead._ Instead of answering her, he wrapped his arms around her in a hug and held her as tightly as he dared to. "How?" was all he could get out, grinning at the sound of her giggles.

"They haven't explained the whole point of this place to you?" she asked, honestly surprised to hear it.

"I didn't get there yet," Fitz replied, a bit embarrassed that he'd forgotten to hit the main point of Tahiti. "I was going to ... you just … got to us a bit too quickly."

Ororo laughed at Fitz for a moment before she grinned back at Forge. "They've been bringing some of us back from the Games. That's probably what they are going to ask you to help with," she explained, looking him over a bit more carefully now. "I like the arm."

"Goddess, you have _grown_ ," he said, pure admiration in his voice. "Your eye …"

"They fixed that when I came back," she told him. "Like they fixed your arm." She had to shake her head at him for a moment. "How long did you wait before you started playing with it?" she teased him lightly.

"As soon as I could get some tools," he admitted. "It took some time to sweet talk the nurses."

"I just can't imagine the Maker without his tools," she teased him.

He finally grinned her way and picked her up to spin her around in a circle. "Never have I been so happy to be around SHIELD."

She couldn't help but laugh through the spin, and when he set her down, she had to grin to herself seeing the height difference was nearly gone now. "I'm sorry you had to get hurt before they brought you here," she told him earnestly. "I heard about what happened…"

"I'm not surprised that you know about every little thing that happens, somehow," he teased.

"Except for the part where you came back to me here!" she said, laughing. "If I'd known, _I_ would have given your tour."

"Well, it's not too late," Fitz said. "We were headed to the labs first — but he's going to be staying here in Tahiti. He's too exposed back in Eleven, and he wants to pitch in… so..."

Ororo grinned delightedly. "Oh, let me show you around the place first before you go to the labs, or you'll never _leave_."

* * *

 _August 5_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kamala had listened to her parents and her teachers talk about paradise, about how all her cares would be taken from her in the next life, and she supposed, at first, that this was what the light, airy, sort of floating feeling was in the pit of her stomach. It was nothing like she'd ever felt before, and it was actually kind of pleasant.

But as her body started to come out of the sedation the Tahiti doctors had her under, she felt a little more like herself. Still a little floaty, but that was wearing off and giving way instead to low hums and beepings that sounded like machinery. Though that didn't exactly make sense either, since the last thing she remembered was Yuriko stabbing her… she had died, hadn't she?

Unless… unless Scott had kept her alive? He'd said he would, and they were close enough to the end, maybe that was what happened.

She took a deep breath and tried very hard to wake up more properly. If that was the case, she wanted to know what had happened.

Bruce watched the young woman carefully, his arms crossed over his chest as his focus shifted from her to her monitors. He knew about Monet, though most of the group did not, and he really didn't want that to be the case for the sweet little girl from back home, so he was understandably a little nervous for her to open her eyes and be responsive.

When she did finally open her eyes, she looked around the room, blinking, seemingly trying to take it all in at once before she looked his way and croaked out a little "Hi."

"Hello there," Bruce replied. "How are you feeling?" He automatically went to fussing over anything he could — checking the feeds to the machines — the data had to be recorded, after all. He watched her reactions, still half holding his breath that this would remain her level of awareness and she wouldn't backslide — if … that was possible. The others weren't exactly clear on that.

"Okay, I think," she replied. She looked down at herself and then up at Bruce. "You look really familiar."

"Oh," he said, openly surprised — both at her recognition and his lack of manners. "Sorry. I'm Bruce Banner." He offered her his hand. "We were both from Six. I was ... " He let out all his breath and let it fall.

"That's right," she said, nodding as the recognition hit her. "You're from the school, too, only… you… you died." She frowned around the room again. "So… does that mean I died?"

"It's … complicated. Technically, yes, you did," Bruce said

"Technically?" She scrunched up her nose at him as she sat up a little more.

"You died in the Games, but they came up with a complex process. I'm still not entirely sure on the details on how it works, I only have access to parts of the procedures — but you're not dead anymore."

Kamala thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure you did me a favor, then," she said as she settled into a frown. "That doesn't sound… natural. Or clean."

He allowed the shock to show for a moment. "It's … really not," he said, frowning. "Is there … there should be some kind of way to … is there a spiritual cleanse?"

"I don't actually know," Kamala admitted. "I didn't really pay attention, but if I was dead, and there wasn't a cleansing or… or if I was left _out_..." She frowned for a moment longer and hugged her arms. "It's … I guess I'll have to look into it. I didn't exactly consider that when I went into the Games…."

"No I get it, I'll help you research," Bruce promised. "We can't have that."

"Thanks," she said, starting to smile. "I mean, there's nothing you can do about it now. And I'm alive; I think that's good. That's good, right? This isn't some evil zombie place?" she added that last part quickly.

"I think that's good," Bruce said. "It's better than the alternative, honestly. I think. We're doing good — or we're trying to." He paused and looked around the room, wondering who was watching them. "We're staging a resistance against the Capitol."

"You are?" She sat up straight and looked honestly nervous as she looked around the room. "And you haven't been caught yet? That's impressive."

"Well, we're a little ways off from the big day, but we're preparing. I'm really more in the labs than anything else."

"What kind of labs?" she asked, gaining a little more interest and more of a smile at the prospect. "I was actually pretty good at my science classes back home. You know, for my age…"

"That's probably why they brought you back," Bruce said. "If you feel up to it, I can show you around. They do a tour of sorts for the kids that come back. I'm sure you'll like the labs."

"You mean there's more than just me?" Kamala asked, brightening up instantly.

"We already have a couple from your Games," he told her. "Jessica Jones, Kitty Pryde, and Gwen Stacy. Did you … were you friends with any of them?"

She tried very hard to hide the look of disappointment. "Oh, I — I knew Kitty," she said quietly.

"There are more coming back," Bruce said. "I just don't know who's on the list."

"They've _got_ to bring Clara and Scott back though, right? I mean, if we're bringing people back, they're too nice not to!" Kamala insisted.

"I really don't know," Bruce said. "I don't think 'nice' was the measuring stick they used to pick the tributes to reanimate. For the ones they have so far, it looks like brains is the deciding factor."

"Well it wasn't strength," Kamala said with a little sheepish grin as she flexed a muscle for him.

"I don't know. I heard about those flips you were pulling off," he said with a little smirk.

"Oh, you did?" She grinned self-consciously at that. "Well… I had a good teacher. And Miles could do them too. Oh! Do you think they'll bring him back? He's pretty smart too."

"If they're going by brain power, they'd have to," Bruce said before he offered her a hand. "How about we get you up and around? The sooner you start moving, the better."

"Right. Don't want my muscles to atrophy," she agreed as she hopped to her feet.

"So you know, it's the beginning of August," he told her. "I know … it was hard to remember time had passed when I woke up. Of course, I was the last of my year. They just … had a lot to deal with. The injuries weren't too terrible but the … ah. The radiation poisoning… it took some time."

"Oh? How long did it take?" she asked, genuinely curious. "I remember your Games from last year, and everyone at the school was talking about that."

"A lot longer than the beginning of August."

"Then I guess I should be glad I'm only missing a few weeks," she said thoughtfully. "It was July when ... well…."

"It's July for everyone," he told her. "But I didn't come back until mid-October." He frowned at the thought. "You know, when we find that cleansing ritual, I may want to go through it with you."

She grinned at him and nodded. "Could be good for you," she said. "I mean, I don't know what it is… but it could even be fun!"

He nodded in agreement. "I'm willing to try just about anything once," he said with a smile. "It sure can't hurt."

"Well, do you think you need it? I mean, you said you were working in the labs on this stuff, so I'm just trying to figure out where you stand," Kamala admitted.

"I think … that whatever they're doing here is for the greater good, ultimately, but also that some damage goes beyond the physical realm." He didn't want to tell her that some of the uncontrolled rage from before was still there for him, lying just below the surface. It didn't seem appropriate to unload something that serious on such a sweet kid.

She nodded thoughtfully. "Well… that makes sense to me." With that, she took a deep breath and bit her lip. "So ... how does this work? The rebellion thing, I mean."

"We'll just … start with the tour, and I'll answer what I can about the rebellion. All I can really tell you for sure is that one of my colleagues in the labs has been making customized weaponry for the kids that are going into the fight. There have apparently been preparations for this for over twenty years. We're just … the newest to the party, it seems." He helped her toward the door, and the two of them slowly made their way to the labs first.

"We seem to have the best from all the districts coming in," Bruce said as he gestured to the people already working. Tony Stark was in his sectioned off area — soundproofed so that he wouldn't disturb the others, though his music was still leaking out through the cracks in the doors. A few spaces over, a tall young man with a metal hand was working on something very studiously, but it was tiny, if the headgear he was wearing was any indicator … it looked like he was doing something with tiny tools and major magnification. "Come on and meet the guys. I know if I take you to the bulk of the kids, we won't get back here anytime soon."

Kamala looked around the labs with wide eyes, the grin stretching wider and wider. "This is… _so so_ cool," she said.

"We like it," Bruce agreed. "A lot more than we tend to let on, though," he added at a whisper.

She grinned at him before she practically skipped over to where the young man with the metal arm was working, all but leaning over his shoulder. "Oooh," she said with wide eyes.

"Hello," he said in a friendly tone. "You the new girl?" He spun to face her and offered her his hand. "I'm Forge. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Kamala smiled sweetly and took his hand. "Kamala Khan," she said. "You've got a really sweet setup here."

"Wanna take a look?" he offered, moving to the side already and offering her the headset. "I'm trying to make Stark's explosive arrows more compact. Fix the balance a little bit — give them more punch."

"Explosive arrows?" Kamala asked even as she moved to take the headset and check it out.

"Yeah, well … I was told that the archers can get in closer than the guys with guns, so we're trying to give them a bigger impact than what they have with normal broadheads."

"You'd have to make sure to balance for how close they get, though, if you don't want to blow _them_ up too," she pointed out, grinning as she looked it over.

"That's exactly what I'm working on," he told her with a kind smile. "And streamlining the design a little bit too. They're a touch too clunky." Forge tipped his head toward where Stark was welding something. "He does most of the work right now; I just make it better."

She grinned and pushed back from the desk area to hand him his headset back. "That's really, really cool."

"Are you into this kind of thing, or are you bio like the other girl?"

"Well, I'm better at bio than anything else, but that doesn't mean I don't like learning this kind of stuff. My best friend back home was a genius with engineering," she told him. "He's working on a fabric that's more durable and lasts longer and can withstand explosions and mine collapses and stuff for the other districts."

"Well you're welcome in my station any time you want to play with it," he promised.

"That would be amazing!" she beamed at him before she looked around the labs once more. "I may never leave, actually. There's so _much_ going on."

"Well, let's get you to the rest of the compound before you join the ranks of the driven, smelly science lot," Bruce said. "I'm told that there are mysterious things like … _food_ and _socialization_ available if we leave the labs."

She had to laugh at that and nod. "Yeah, okay, I guess that's important too."

With a little wave to Forge, and a last glance at Tony — who looked like he was singing along with the music, the two of them headed toward the rest of the complex. "Try not to get too attached to the lab," Bruce advised. "We've already been informed that this setup is temporary."

"Really? But it looked like the equipment was — I mean, that's a lot of setup just to tear it all down again."

"If what I saw of the evacuation plans is correct, we're going to get out the most important one-of-a-kind equipment … and the rest is going to be blown up and buried. We're God only knows how deep underground. And it's going to happen in just a few short months at the end of the victory tour."

"Oh, okay. Wow," she muttered, her eyes wide. "That's… that's when we're going to do the whole revolution, then?"

"That's what I'm told," he said. "From the little bit of hacking that Tony's been doing, it looks like a large group of victors is in on it, too. They're going to hit them from all sides when it happens. The logistics of it is pretty impressive, honestly."

"Oh wow." Kamala blinked at him, her eyes wide, though she had to stop and consider something. "I never asked — um. You said it'll happen on the victory tour. Whose tour?" There was no mistaking the hopeful tone in her voice as she almost stood on her toes.

"America Chavez won it," he said. "It was kind of awful to watch. She … really didn't want to win. She nearly took apart the girl that killed you." He paused a moment and turned her way as they walked. "She saw it. What happened to you and Scott. She just couldn't get there quick enough."

"Oh." Kamala blinked once, then bit her lip. "I… I'm glad it wasn't the girl from Ten," she offered at last.

"They offer for everyone waking up to watch what they'd like to see from the Games to see how it turned out … but I can understand if you don't want to watch it. I could just give you the crib notes."

"Would you?" she asked, sounding relieved. "I mean, I was there for most of it anyway, and I… I don't really like violence."

He gave her a kind smile, almost as if he was relieved to hear it. "Neither do I," he said. "I'll tell you over lunch. But first .. the training room. The docs recommend that we come down here and do some workouts too — even if we're not planning on doing missions down the road. But, as you can see..." He pushed open the doors to where pretty much all of the kids in the Tahiti program were working hard to hone their skills and prove who was the best so they could get the best assignments. "It gets pretty intense down here."

Kamala's eyes were wide as she took in the scene. It wasn't like being on the rooftop at the Capitol; there was much more to work with, and it seemed to be organized, but everyone was spread out, doing their own thing.

"There are a couple of trainers that will help you if you want to learn," Bruce said.

Kamala's gaze fell on Bobbi, and she broke into an excited grin as she spun to face Bruce. "The victors are here, too? Do we get to request our teachers?"

"Ah," he said, twiddling his fingers for a moment. "Only a couple of them know."

"Well, which ones?" she asked, still smiling brightly.

"Bobbi Morse from Two, James Rhodes from Three, and … a few of the scientists. Xavier and McCoy from Ten, Richards from One," He felt bad watching the hopeful expression on her face. "But that's all."

"Oh." Her shoulders dropped when she heard it. "It's just… I learned a lot from Logan…" she tried to explain. "He didn't treat me like I was, like, five years old and stupid, you know?"

"You're not the only one that wants to see him," Bruce told her before he called out to Peter. "You will probably get along with these guys."

Peter grinned at her as he came over from where he had been sparring with Gwen — under Matt's instructions — and he waved with the tips of his fingers. "Hey, you must be the new girl," he said with a bright grin. "Peter Parker."

"Oh, yeah, I know who you are," Kamala said with a growing smile. "You were on Logan's team last year." She grinned and then seemed to remember her manners at the last moment. "Oh! I'm Kamala, by the way. Kamala Khan."

"Peter Parker," he replied as he gave her a little wave. "Soooo…. What did Bruce leave out? I'm sure it was something, by the look on his face." He ushered her over to where Gwen was grinning and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Are you another one gunning for a spot on Team Awesome? We've had a few candidates."

"Oh, if you're asking…" Kamala smiled sheepishly.

"Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We … can't really recruit until we get our lost member back. Kate and Kurt won't accept any new recruits until we have a full agreement with everyone."

"Oh, I already like him," Kamala assured Peter. "He taught me how to toss someone over my shoulder!"

"Really?" Peter asked looking a little surprised. "He didn't teach _me_ that."

"Well, he taught me and Miles and a few other people, but you know, he wasn't really _supposed_ to," Kamala admitted in a rush before she whispered, "My mentor was _so_ mad."

"I have a feeling he did a lot of things he wasn't supposed to," Peter said with a grin. "He's like that, you know. Especially if he can tick off someone like the Red Skull."

Kamala matched his grin with one of her own before she took in a little breath. "I could show you, if you want to learn it," she offered. "It's not that hard."

"Um, yeah, but you might want to get back to full speed before you start whipping people over your shoulder. Most of us took a lot of time to get back to 'normal', you know."

"How much time is a lot of time?" she asked curiously. "Because Bruce was just telling me that the revolution is in a few months…"

"Oh, you should be in fighting form before we have to move," he assured her, but he didn't get anything else out before Gwen slipped past him and wrapped her up in a hug.

"You made it so _far_!" Gwen said as she hugged her.

"Oh!" Kamala looked surprised and then hugged Gwen back with a soft sort of smile. "Umm, thanks. I really didn't do much, though. I had a good alliance."

"You did," she agreed. "And the only alliance where all of you got something from the Capitol." She linked arms with her and started toward the seats at the edge of the training room. "You should sit down before you get too stressed."

"It is a lot to take in after being dead for a while," Kamala admitted, taking the seat by Gwen gratefully as she leaned back against the wall. "I'm sorry you didn't make it very far. We watched the parade every night."

"Oh," she said, frowning a little bit. "So did we — I was with Miles."

"You were?" Kamala's expression seemed to brighten.

"Yeah, we did okay," she said, nodding. "You know. Until I fell off the mountain. Whatever."

"You… fell off a mountain?" Kamala made a face. "That stinks."

"I'm sure it could have been worse," she said, scrunching up her nose. "I wasn't fighting giant black widows." She looked around the room and let out a sigh. "Come on, I'm tired already. Let these guys prep for the big fight. I'll show you where the cafeteria is if Bruce hasn't already — and if you want, I think there is a room next door to mine that's open."

"That would be really nice," Kamala agreed, looking relieved at the thought. And with that, Gwen beamed at the younger girl and pulled her arm through Kamala's to finish out the rest of the tour — the important part, she insisted.


	4. Missing Teammates

**Chapter 4: Missing Teammates**

* * *

 _August 9_

 _Triskellion_

* * *

Coulson had his team gathered to go over the latest intelligence. Tracking Grant Ward and his group of Hydra backers was not the easiest thing to do, since they knew all of SHIELD's security and surveillance protocols, but with Stark giving them new gear and Pym setting them up with new bugging devices, it was finally coming to fruition.

"Are you all sure that you want to participate in this run? Because we do have teams to specialize in this," Coulson said to the group at large.

"You're not running us out," Skye insisted, and both Fitz and Simmons nodded behind her.

"Our team, our problem," Fitz said.

Coulson looked around the room at his hand-picked team and nodded his head. "Then let's get down to it," he said. "All the intel we have right now says that he's been hiding out in Four, but Odin's followers do not want to harbor the kind of trouble he's dragging with him with Hydra. I don't know for sure how much time we have, but they are clearly gearing up to move, if our satellite intel is up to snuff."

"And it _is_ ," Skye insisted. "I checked that myself."

"And just … how many Hydra… _people_ are there in Four?" Simmons asked with one eyebrow raised.

"That part actually seems to be in our favor," Coulson said. "It looks like there are only twenty or so Hydra soldiers with him — and we're running off the assumption that most of them are entry-level foot soldiers. Certainly not with Ward's kind of training under their belt."

"Oh, well that's good," Simmons said, looking a bit relieved to hear it.

"The numbers won't be a problem with some of the toys we've got," Fitz promised confidently. "That repulsor Forge was working on earlier — we've incorporated the designs into these, so even if they _are_ more than foot soldiers, this should knock them all off their feet," he added, holding up a few of the devices he was packing to take with them.

"Still, for the most part, I'm having everyone carry Fitz's non-lethal options," Coulson said. "In addition to real ammunition, of course. But if the option is there to capture and not kill, our orders fall toward finding out who's running Hydra and how it's structured, so — try to capture if at all possible."

"If we _can_ ," Skye repeated, and she didn't miss the ill-hidden smirk on May's face when she said it.

Coulson smirked her way for a moment. "Of course, there are scenarios where that might not be possible … May?"

"If Hydra goes for the grab, don't let them turn the tables," May listed off. "And do _not_ let Ward get past you. He knows too much about our operations." Her eyes glinted for a moment. "Better he stay dead and gone than he tell anyone anything _else_."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure none of us are going to miss the chance to take him down," Skye agreed.

With everyone in agreement, all that was left was to get packed up and moving. Fitz and Simmons made it a point to double-check the tech and gadgets, though Fitz didn't notice the wrapped sandwich Simmons slipped into his pack.

* * *

 _August 12_

 _Tahiti Training Room_

* * *

Clara had listened to everything that Kurt had told her about the program and the purpose behind it in almost total silence. She didn't have many questions outside of what he'd already answered for her … though the desire to ask why he was putting up with this crap was nearly overwhelming.

She didn't like the idea of being picked to die ... then being brought back to 'choose' to help or not. No matter how you sliced it, it didn't feel like much of a choice. But, when he pushed the door open, gently explaining how they were encouraged to learn to fight better, she stopped in the open door and held her breath at the sheer amount of everything going on. Archers working on what looked to be impossible shots, sword fighters twirling and dancing through a makeshift obstacle course while getting actual guidance rather than basics….

But on the other side of the room in a relatively quiet area, she was quick to spot Kamala working with a few others from their year. She turned to Kurt with a little frown. "You didn't tell me she was here."

"It's more fun to let the reunions happen this way," he said with an open shrug.

"Yeah, it's been a real treat so far," she said dryly before she headed their way. She was nearly to the mat they were working on when Matt Murdock tipped the girls off to their new visitor.

"Ladies, I think we have a new competitor," he said, tipping his chin toward where Clara was coming up behind them.

At that, Kamala broke into a delighted squeal and rushed toward Clara to nearly knock her over in a hug, completely abandoning the training she'd been doing with the others. "Oh! I kept asking them if they'd bring you back, but nobody would _tell_ me, and I'm _so glad_ they did!" she gushed.

Clara had to laugh as she squeezed Kamala in a tight bear hug. "Well I'm sure I'm here because you asked for it," she teased. "It can't possibly be my connections."

"Oh no, that couldn't be it," Kamala said, though she was actually serious. "Nobody around here likes Creed very much — I mean, your brother, not you — so it was probably me," she decided with a little troublemaking grin.

"So, no offense to my current tour guide," Clara said, looking back toward Kurt. "But I think … I'd like to poke around with someone I already trust. What's that going to take — or do you need me to fight your teacher first?"

"No, no," Kurt said, though he was smirking at the idea. "Kamala's been here for long enough that she knows where everything is."

"It's really nothing personal," Clara assured him. "I'm sure you're really nice, but I'm just … I think I'd do better with someone I already know."

"I completely understand," Kurt said, then paused and had to smirk wider. "Besides, this gives me an excuse to find a certain archer friend of mine."

"She's here too?" Clara asked, looking toward the archery range.

Kurt's smile brightened. "Yes, they brought her back. Peter as well."

She frowned and spoke slowly, carefully choosing her words. "But no one knows." She looked around the room and fixed a very Creed-like glare his way. "And these are the same people that are working on the Games?"

Kurt's smile slipped, and he let out a long sigh. "Yes," he said. "And I know — I want to tell him too."

"I don't think you know _half_ of what you think you do," Clara said, shaking her head very slowly. "If these people could let ... " She let out a sigh. "You know what, I think I want to finish that tour."

Kurt frowned, but he nodded all the same. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to come find me," he said.

"I'm sure you can't answer the kind of questions I have, but thank you all the same," Clara said.

Kurt was still frowning as Kamala rushed past him to link arms with Clara. "Come on. I'll show you where everything is."

The little blonde shot Kurt an apologetic look, and the two girls headed out, leaving him in a little less of a good mood than he had been. "Maybe we can talk later," Clara offered.

"I think we may need to," Kurt said.

But while Kurt looked upset by Clara's concerns and questions, Kamala was still too happy to have her friend back to be bothered. "Come on; let me show you some of the cool stuff around here."

"I suppose it's too much to ask that we get to bunk up then?" Clara asked, smirking a bit at the younger girl. "I mean, I need to keep my _daughter_ nearby."

Kamala beamed delightedly. "Well, there's not many rooms left, so I'm sure we can bunk up and say it was _totally necessary_ ," she said, leaning forward to add that last part in a conspiratory whisper.

"Oh, it's necessary if they want me to stick around," she said, though it was clear to anyone outside of Kamala that Clara was perfectly serious.

Kamala grinned at her. "Come on, I'll show you back to the rooms. Mine doesn't have very much right now, but I'm sure I can spruce it up. Well, my side of it anyway. If you don't mind, I mean."

"You do whatever you want to the whole thing," Clara said. "I'm more of an outside kind of girl anyhow. I've never been much for decorating."

Kamala nodded and led the older girl down to show her the room, then once more threw her arms around Clara in a hug. "I'm just really, really glad you're alive," she told her. "Hopefully, it won't take too long before they bring Scott back too."

"Oh, they better," she agreed. "After everything we went through to keep that boy alive ... "

"He saved my life, you know," Kamala told her.

"Of course he did," Clara said, not fazed in the least. "I didn't expect anything less from him."

"There was a _huge_ black widow," Kamala explained with wide eyes. "We dropped half a mountain on it."

"One of your traps?" she asked, one eyebrow arched high.

Kamala looked proud as she nodded enthusiastically. "We had it set so that anybody who walked into the valley would set it off, but ... well, spiders."

"Then that spider never really had a chance," she said. "Not if you rigged it up."

Kamala flushed with pleasure at the compliment. "I set it off manually, had to kick out the wedge. It was terrifying," she admitted in a whisper. She hadn't told anyone else about anything that had happened at the end of the Games, but this was Clara, so she was only half holding back the flood of words that wanted to break free. "Scott distracted it."

"It's stupid that they let that dumb spider loose so late," she said softly. "I have no doubt one of you two would have won otherwise."

"I like to think so," Kamala agreed with a little smile. "I mean, there were only two other people left when it happened — the girl from Ten and America. And America really didn't want to win."

"Well, I'm glad that the Ten girl got what was coming to her," Clara said. "I hope that she was hurting from what I did."

"She really was," Kamala nodded, though her smile had dropped entirely. "She looked awful."

"Outside matched the inside then," she said, unconcerned.

Kamala smirked the slightest bit at that. "Yeah, I guess," she agreed. "She totally snuck up on me, though. I was going to see if Scott was okay, and then…"

"I'm not surprised. No fairness in that one at all," Clara said. "But Scott … if he was bitten already, like Kurt said, I don't know what you could have done for him."

"I don't know either, but I was so going to try," Kamala said with a determined sort of nod. "And I'll tell him so when they bring him back."

Clara slowed to a stop and turned to wrap the younger girl up in a tight hug. "And we'll be here waiting to say hello."

"He's going to be so happy to see you," Kamala giggled.

"Please," Clara said with a wave, blowing it off. " _You_ were his favorite. All the Seven boys like you best."

"With one very big and ugly exception," she teased.

She waved her hand at that, too. "He doesn't like anyone."

"He helped get you those gloves. And he was being all… I mean, he's a creep, but he was totally trying," Kamala pointed out.

"He is my biggest big brother," she said. "It's like a twitch. Ma would have had his hide if he didn't do _something._ "

"Don't have to tell me. My big brother gets an awful twitch if I'm within thirty feet of a boy," Kamala said with an affectionate smile that turned into a long sigh the more she thought about it.

"Oh, yours let you get within thirty feet?" Clara said, wide-eyed and obviously going for the tease to get Kamala back into a better mood. "Must be nice."

Kamala giggled. "Well, as long as I don't _talk_ to them…" she said, pretending to think it over.

"Oh yeah, that … is just unforgivable. Count yourself lucky that you didn't have two. They worked in tandem."

"Oh yeah. That would have been way too much," Kamala agreed. "It was bad enough when Aamir was on the same side as my parents…" She shook her head. "They were probably having fits watching the Games. Sleeping in the same space within ten feet of a boy…"

"Well.… that's terrible," Clara said. "We'll never live it down."

"Then I guess — I _guess_ — it's a good thing they don't know about this place," Kamala said. "So they can't find us and read us the riot act for all the Games stuff."

"Lucky us," she said with a smile.

"It won't be forever, though. Did Kurt tell you we're planning a _whole_ revolution in just a few months?"

"He said something about that," Clara said with a nod. "But just because there is a revolution doesn't mean that we'll have any chance so see anyone outside of this group again."

Kamala frowned at that. "The guy who runs things, Agent Coulson — you missed him, by the way — he said the plan is to let everyone live a normal life once Thanos is gone."

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," Clara said dryly.

"Well, if he's lying, _I'm_ not sticking around," Kamala said matter-of-factly. "As soon as this whole revolution thing is over, I'll ditch if I have to, but my parents are going to be …" She shook her head. "I'm not going to stick around after everything's said and done. I _liked_ where I was."

"I just want to go home," Clara said softly.

Kamala glanced at Clara for a moment, surprised, before she simply wrapped her arms around Clara in a hug. "Me too."

"I think you'd really like Seven if you saw it," Clara told her. "It's lush and green and smells like pine trees and mountain streams."

Kamala smiled at that. "I don't know if you'd like Six. There aren't that many trees, and it sort of smells like medicine all the time. But _I_ like it."

"It's not just the trees … the forest floor is covered with soft moss that makes the best camping spots." She smiled at her. "But I'd be willing to stop in and say hello in Six if you're there."

"Oh good. I think once Thanos is gone, people should be allowed to visit different districts, don't you?" Kamala said.

"I'll do it anyhow," she replied.

"You'd have to bring Scott, and you know how he is about rules," Kamala teased.

"I doubt he'd want to be my travel partner," Clara said with a soft sort of smile.

"He didn't seem to mind traveling with you in the Games. At all," Kamala pointed out.

"Well, you were there," she said. "And it's not like he had many choices outside of us." She started to laugh. "And God forbid we come across some trashy redhead. I'd be ditched in a heartbeat."

Kamala snorted out loud and then covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh, that's so mean, but it's so true that it's funny."

While they were still giggling at their friend's expense, the two girls slipped into what would very soon be their shared room to finish catching up in relative privacy.

* * *

 _August 15_

 _District Four_

* * *

"Are stakeouts always this boring?" Skye asked May from the surveillance room they'd set up in the top floor of one of the older buildings in the outskirts of Four. They hadn't seen too much in the way of Hydra, except for one lone agent that was doing a horrible job of being sneaky as he went in and out of a building several blocks down. "When do we get to just …I don't know. Shoot this guy? It's pretty obvious that he's up to no good. I mean … hello."

"Almost always this exciting," May replied evenly, though she wasn't showing any signs of the restlessness that had been plaguing Skye since they set up shop there. She had hardly moved at all, whereas Skye couldn't shake the desire to keep moving, to shake out her muscles, to talk, to _do_ something.

"I was kind of hoping we'd have totally crashed Ward's party by now," Skye sighed, her frustration obvious in her tone. "I mean, I know he's not the biggest fish, but he's a pretty big fish, don't you think?"

"We really don't know yet," May said, still stoically keeping her post and her focus on the task at hand.

Skye let out a sigh of annoyance that traveled down her whole body, then set herself back down and rearranged the way she was sitting. "I don't get it. How can you _of all people_ be so… blase?"

"You have to learn to hold onto it, and use it when it'll do you the most good," she replied. "And right now? Waiting for him to poke his arrogant little head out is _not_. The time."

"I know. It's just… we thought they were leaving, and instead of a gung-ho stop-the-bad-guys, it's been a whole lot of waiting. And rain. Lots of rain," she grumbled.

May let out a breath and rolled her shoulders before she turned to look at Skye. "If we could make a rush on them and get in and out without any trouble, I'd be leading the charge, but that's not what our orders are."

Skye couldn't help but smirk at her SO. "But you'll totally be leading the charge when it happens later."

"Oh, you can bet on it," she promised. "And I'm not using the night-night pistol either."

"Coulson said capture, not kill," Skye said.

"I can capture him with his knees blown out," she replied.

"Remind me never to make you mad ever."

"If I need to remind you of that, you're not paying attention."

Skye grinned at that and then leaned back against the wall to get more comfortable. It looked like it was going to be another long day of … watching and waiting. And she didn't even have her tablet so she could bug her favorite message buddy to pass the time. Not that it would do her any good since he didn't have his either. She was going to have to set him up with something so they could do that again, because that — that was actually really fun.

The two women were settled in, quietly waiting, but before either of them could get too comfortable, the perimeter alarm went off. Both women jumped to their feet as Fitz called in which checkpoint had been tripped so that they were sure to know where the intruder was coming from.

May went to her comms as she pulled the slide back on her pistol. "Be careful," she told Skye. "I don't want to have to pull you out and let him go if this goes further south than it has already."

Skye nodded, her own icer already in her hands. "Don't worry. I've got a good SO who trained me for exactly this sort of thing," she said with a grin May's way.

May gave her a little smirk, and the two of them dove into it, with Fitz in their ear shouting directions as to where the threat was coming from. And it was substantial. The Hydra unit had nearly surrounded the building and infiltrated at the same time, so a speedy exit simply wasn't a possibility. They got all of two floors down before they were fired on — or more appropriately, May was fired on. She rushed across the span of open hallway when she heard them pause to reload, hoping that the two of them could hold the Hydra creeps back from their dual positions, but that proved to be problematic almost immediately when two shots exploded next to May's head from a window behind her.

A sniper on a building a few blocks away was trying to target her while she searched for cover. Where she was, there were few options, outside of getting shot.

But with Coulson shouting in their ears to get somewhere safe, Skye drew up the courage to poke out and take a couple of fast shots, freeing May up to move to better cover, even as she shouted at Skye to do the same.

And while May was taking the bulk of the fire her way, Skye was trying to find the person in charge of the men — and he was close. She knew it. When the Hydra soldiers got close enough on occasion, some of them so close that only a solid punch in the gut had kept them back, she could hear Ward speaking to them through their earpieces.

She had to _find him._

She knew she was getting closer as she kicked out at a Hydra goon and knocked the gun out of his hands in a move that May had taught her. It seemed like these guys were getting harder to deal with, even if they _had_ been right in the initial assessment that they weren't nearly as trained as Ward was. She snatched up the gun that the Hydra soldier had dropped before he could use it against her and hit him in the back of the head with it for good measure, sending him sprawling and unconscious as she peered around the next corner.

As soon as she did, though, she was met with none other than the guy they'd been looking for this whole time — and the second she raised her pistol to take him out, he moved forward in a quick move to disarm. She tried to counter it, but he seemed to have anticipated her move, and all it did was end up pulling her in tighter as he disarmed her and grinned.

"May showed you that move," he said, sounding impressed — but somehow the kind of impressed that made Skye's skin crawl. "That one's her favorite to use when we used to spar."

Skye narrowed her eyes at him and tried to pull away, but for the moment, she was stuck tight. He had hold of both of her arms, and the problem was: she could break holds fine the way May had taught her, but he was too _close_ and had both wrists pretty well trapped, so she couldn't _use_ that knowledge.

"Come on," Ward said, turning to his soldiers slightly. "We've got what we need. Let's get out of here and blow this place."

Skye's eyes narrowed at the order as she glared at him and stamped on his foot, but when he winced at the blow, he only tightened his grip on her.

"That wasn't very nice, Skye."

"You betrayed the team and beat Coulson and threatened Fitzsimmons. You really think I'm going to be _nice_ to you?" Skye shot back in as close to a snarl as she could approximate.

"Did it ever occur to you that I didn't hurt anyone on the team until you _threw me in prison_?" he countered even as he jerked hard on her wrists not just to pull her closer but to start moving down the hall.

"Oh no. You don't get to play sad sob story—"

"Worked fine when you thought I was poor little Grant Ward, unloved little brother hiding in SHIELD," he said, poking his lip out in a false little pout for a moment before he sneered at her. "You're just mad you fell for it."

She glared at him hard for that one, but when he moved to start pulling her along again, this time, she countered by going limp, making herself a dead weight that he would have to drag or carry if he wanted to take her _anywhere_.

"Acting like a child? Really, Skye—"

But as soon as he tried to reassert his grip, she broke one arm free. And just like Logan had said, he moved to protect himself low, so she went high — hitting him hard in the throat.

He released her immediately, eyes wide and gasping hard for a breath while he went to his knees, and she seized the opportunity not only to kick him hard but to snatch the gun he was holding and level it at him, all in one smooth movement.

"You don't have what it takes to pull the trigger," Ward rasped out.

"Oh yeah?" Skye countered, though she was having her own doubts, right up until she saw that his sneer was starting to come back. So, she squeezed off four shots in rapid succession before she could talk herself out of it.

He stared in open shock, already sputtering as she backed away and ran for it, barely holding back from crying into the comms as she told her team where they could find Ward and how it had gone down.

As it stood, though, the group of SHIELD agents met a lot more resistance than they thought they would. By the time the team was able to regroup and recover, Ward simply wasn't with them. He wasn't at the coordinates Skye had radioed in when May got there, but there were signs that the Hydra goons had to carry him out — he hadn't gotten out on his own steam.

When Skye had gotten out of the building, she very nearly ran directly into Coulson, who ushered her to a safe point and pulled her into a hug, seeing as the girl was almost hyperventilating and trembling. "It's okay, May's on it," he told her.

She nodded and tucked into the hug, perfectly content to stay right where she was. "I shot him," she muttered. "It wasn't an icer, either. I think… I think I might have killed him."

"It's okay," he promised. "If you did, he deserved it."

She had to agree with that, thought she wasn't entirely sure it made her feel any better, so she hooked her arms around him and hugged him that much tighter before she went ahead and started crying.

* * *

 _August 19_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Charles was still busy doing something in the Capitol, so the next Tahiti operative to wake up would have two tour guides this time. It worked out well to have someone around that the person _knew_ wasn't dead, so Bobbi had volunteered to go with Kate to be that grounding force. Besides, she had been Betsy's mentor — well, Viper had, but she'd helped, and she wanted to see the girl happy and healthy if she could.

Which meant Bobbi had grinned outright at the girl when the first question she'd had beyond the basic 'how' was: "I don't have to deal with Viper anymore, do I?"

"No way. She's not allowed down here," Bobbi assured her with a crooked smile.

Betsy let one hand rest over her heart as she let out a breath. "Thank God," she said. "I've never met anyone who could be so disturbing just by breathing."

"Trust me, I totally understand," Bobbi said, still with that same smile. "There aren't that many victors down here, though, so don't worry about it. If you ever see her again, I wouldn't be surprised if it's when you're helping me take her _out_."

"Well, now that I could go along with," Betsy said with a little nod. "Alright then. Take me to your leader ... or … whatever."

Kate and Bobbi both grinned, and Kate even chuckled at that one. "Why don't we start with a tour of the place?" she offered. "We're all training, getting ready." She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. "You know ... for the _revolution_ we're planning."

"Do we get real training this time, or is this a larger-scale fight to the death for horrible, tasteless television?"

"No, no, this is real training," Kate assured her quickly, grinning over at Bobbi. "In fact, I borrowed your mentor here. She's been teaching me hand-to-hand and staff work for about a year now — and we've got trainers for other stuff. Sniper courses, swords, infiltration, you name it."

"I'm not sure how good I'd be at all of that, but … I'll give it a shot," Betsy said, her head tipped to the side and a thoughtful sort of expression on her face. "I did like the katana."

"You'd be in good company," Kate said with a little smirk. "My boyfriend's one of the best swordsmen ever."

"Then I may have to borrow him to spar," Betsy said. "I promise not to hurt him."

Kate grinned at that and offered her hand to Betsy to help her stand up. "I'd appreciate that," she said. "I like my Elf in one piece."

She smiled her way and simply followed where the two girls led, and when they got down to the training room, Betsy grinned as she watched the action going on around them. "Oh, I think I'm going to like this."

"Most of us do," Bobbi told her with a grin to match before she simply gestured out into the training room. "Tomorrow, you can take your pick on where to start. I know Duquesne will be glad to see you back. He thought you had promise while you were in the Capitol."

"He was nice to work with," Betsy agreed. "But I think until I feel stronger, perhaps just some swimming, if that's alright."

"Anything you feel like," Bobbi said. "Take it at your own pace, and let your muscles get used to being used again." She smiled softly. "You'll probably see Cassie Lang while you're there. She lives on the diving platform during her free time."

"It sounds like I may be making a new friend then," Betsy replied. "But I'll see you in archery soon," she promised.

"I look forward to kicking your butt," Kate said with a wide grin.

* * *

Meanwhile, in her quarters, Sinthea Schmidt stood staring at her mirror in the bathroom. Her eyes seemed like smouldering charcoals: not quite as hot as flaming sparks, but hot enough, and filled with enough energy to do some damage. And she seemed to be trying to do just that with her stare.

 _Jessica Jones. Kitty Pryde. Gwen Stacy. Kamala Khan. Clara Creed. Betsy Braddock._

Sin gripped the edges of the white marble sink with such ferocity that her fingers turned the same white as the stone. Water dripping from her newly washed scarlet hair rolled down her arms like creeping fingers. She shivered.

Where was he? So far, only girls had been brought back. What weren't they being told? Surely Fury wanted a fighter like Brock Rumlow in his revolution. If he didn't, he certainly was the fool Sinthea always thought him to be.

The thought crossed her mind to ask Bruce if he'd seen or heard anything about Crossbones. Of the other tributes, he was the one that would be willing to help her. "Team Awesome" had never seen her as equal, and she found their constant affection unbelievably unbearable. But Bruce, Tony Stark — the science team might actually know something. Though for some reason Sin got the feeling that Tony still held his attempted murder against her...

Bruce was probably her best bet, she decided as she finally straightened up. She was going to get some real answers. One way or another.


	5. Alternative Methods

**Chapter 5: "Alternative Methods"**

* * *

 _August 22_

 _Tahiti Medical Wing_

* * *

So far, the tributes had been uncharacteristically rough to deal with this year. It shouldn't have been this hard. The bulk of the injuries had been stab wounds, or internal bleeding — but those that weren't in that category were absolutely frustrating.

"Venom loads of that magnitude," Nathaniel Essex muttered. He'd been working on James Barnes for the past three days solid, and though they'd quickly removed the arm that had been envenomated, it seemed to all those observing the man's frustration that it hadn't been done quickly enough. "It was simply too potent ... the cellular damage alone …. Enzymes going wild even in suspension …"

Claire Temple frowned his way for a moment. "I thought we ran the venom for the mutts through before we used them on these kids," she said.

"We _did_ ," he said irritably. "Something must have been altered between when we signed off on it and when they put it to use. That or our testing methods simply weren't thorough enough when dealing with the suspended animation." He made a frustrated noise as he pushed away from the microscope, one hand rubbing his eyes as he let out a breath. "The cellular structure is compromised beyond repair in every sample I've seen."

Claire's frown only deepened. "Can I?" she asked — not because she doubted his word as a doctor but because that just seemed so far from what they'd been told.

He glared her way but gestured to the microscope. "Necrosis was dealt with when I performed the amputation, but the red blood cells ... the closer I get to waking him up, the more they are simply _bursting_."

"Must be some kind of interaction with the drugs we're using for the process itself," she muttered to herself as she took a look at the samples, frowning when she saw what he was talking about. The red blood cells simply weren't _surviving_.

"That is not the case, I checked it three times," he argued. "The toxin seems to have bonded to the lining of his vessels. Even new blood I'm putting in is having the same reaction."

She glanced up at that, her eyes wide. "That ... what did they _do_ to make it do that?" she asked. "We _told_ them we didn't want long-term effects."

"I have no idea," he said, shaking his head. "But whatever it is — it's far too efficient even at the size of the dose he got. I can't isolate it."

"Try sending a few of the samples to Simmons; she was on the final prep for the mutts before they went into the arena," Claire suggested, her frown deepening. "I doubt she added anything — she's part of the Tahiti group — but she might know who _did_."

"That doesn't help me in the meantime," Essex complained with a growl to his voice. "I can't put him back into cryo at this point."

"And you said even new blood is having this reaction…" Claire pushed back from the microscope.

"If it wasn't so infuriating, it would be fascinating." He pulled the sample tubes closer and brought out a fresh slide. "See for yourself."

She raised a single eyebrow his way and then pulled her chair back up to the microscope to examine the venom on the slide. When she did, she let out a little low whistle. "This is the stuff from those scorpions?"

"Yes," he said, nodding his head. "And it's totally different from the compound that we'd originally sent through."

"Why would they change it so much?" Claire said, more to herself than to him as she looked back over the sample. When she was through, she glanced back up at Essex. "We have two other kids with poison and venom to get through."

"And they're two different varieties," Essex added. "If one of the others proves to be compromised as well, I'd say you have someone suspicious of the program."

"We should pull a few samples now," Claire suggested. "I know we aren't quite ready to start the final stages with Summers, but if this is going to be a problem, we need to know about it for him and for Kaplan."

"I've already pulled blood," Essex assured her. "I _will_ get ahead of this."

She nodded; she wasn't surprised, since Essex had been part of okay'ing the final venom compounds for the mutts. Of course he would want to be involved if something had gone wrong; he had a reputation on the line. "In the meantime, what are we going to do about Barnes?" she asked. "You're right; we can't put him back in cryo. But at this rate, he's going to die on the table, and there's nothing we can do to stop it."

Essex let out a sigh, then swore through his teeth as he kicked the stool he was on across the room. "I'll deal with it," he grumbled after he'd had a proper fit.

* * *

 _August 23_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Steve wasn't too surprised to see Bruce slip into the weight room that morning. Even when he was completely wrapped up in some new problem or experiment or something like that, Bruce still liked to get away from work sometimes. And he was actually, surprisingly, strong. He could deadlift more than Steve could, and Steve had to admit he was a little jealous of it — Bruce didn't spend nearly as much time in the weight room as Steve did and still had him beat.

"Hey, you got a minute?" Bruce asked when Steve slowed to take a little break.

Steve nodded, secretly grateful for the break, and took a long drink from his water bottle before he stood up to cross the room and join Bruce. "What's up?"

"You probably want to sit down, Cap," Bruce said, gesturing to a nearby bench. "I have news, and you're probably not going to like it."

Steve frowned, his gaze searching Bruce's face for a moment, and when he saw that Bruce was entirely serious, he did just that and sat down on the bench. "Did something happen?" he asked quietly.

"Sort of," Bruce said before he glanced over his shoulder to check the camera positions — and then blocked them. "I'm not supposed to know some of what's going on, but I know more than I should with what they have me doing in the labs. The other kids don't know it ... but there was a failed awakening early on. A girl that … well, medically everything went right. But she never opened her eyes."

Steve watched Bruce for a moment, the concern written all over his expression. "I'm sorry. That sounds awful."

"The thing is — she's not dead. She's there — somewhere. All the tests and monitoring show that she might even be aware. She's just … trapped," he said quietly.

"Wow," Steve said, still softly, not sure what to say other than that.

"But that's … that's really not what I wanted to talk to you about," he said. "I didn't want you waiting around to see who was coming up. Your friend ... that poison he got hit with … they can't reverse it."

Steve stared at Bruce for a moment, suddenly unsure he followed that. "What do you mean — they can't reverse what?"

"I mean … they had Bucky on the list," Bruce said. "They did all the work, all the hard stuff — but his blood is reacting badly. If they wake him up, he'll bleed to death. The cells are … damaged beyond repair or replacement." He let out a breath and shook his head. "Essex is having a fit about it. I think he scared Claire."

Steve continued to stare at Bruce. "They… can't bring him back, then?" he asked, the words sticking in his throat.

"No I don't think so," Bruce said as he shook his head. "But ... he's not trapped like the girl is."

"No. At least there's that," Steve said heavily. He leaned forward and rubbed both hands over his face, leaving both of them tented over his mouth and nose for a long moment afterward as he struggled to get a handle on what Bruce had just told him. Finally, he took a deep breath. "Thanks… for telling me."

"I really couldn't in good conscience leave you hanging when I knew …"

"No, yeah. I appreciate it. Really," Steve said, glancing up at Bruce. "Better to know than to keep… waiting." He took a deep breath and ran both hands over his face again. "I… could use a little privacy, if that's alright," he said.

"Of course," Bruce said, standing quickly. "I'm sorry, Steve. Really, I am."

Steve nodded to himself at that, though Bruce hadn't quite left the room before he heard the odd _splat_ that the water bottle made when Steve chucked it across the room full force.

* * *

 _August 31_

 _Triskellion_

* * *

Skye was surprised when Coulson called her into his office for an assignment — not the full team, even though he had been pushing for more with the team as a unit so they could all get better trained ahead of the planned revolution. And not Skye and May together, either, even though Skye had been training under her and doing well.

So when she peeked her head in the door, she waved at her boss with the tips of her fingers and gave him a nervous smile before she clapped her hands in front of her and tried to bolster up some extra courage. "What's the plan, AC?"

"I was reading your report on what happened in that stakeout," Coulson said, shuffling through the file until he found the right spot. "You said you landed a throat punch? That's not something you learned from your SO."

"Ah, no," Skye admitted, though she was grinning crookedly at the memory of it. "That was something someone else taught me. I may have maybe mentioned I had a jerk problem to one of my, ah, students." She did her best to make it sound casual, even rolling her eyes a little more obviously than she would have normally — clearly pleased with the outcome of that move anyhow.

"It's a dirty trick," Coulson said, holding a serious expression as he watched her.

"And it _totally_ worked," Skye said, still smiling, though that was slipping with the more serious expression Coulson was giving her.

"And it's totally outside of the bounds of SHIELD protocol," Coulson continued. "Which means you need to learn more of it."

Skye nodded along to everything he'd said so far, biting her lip and unsure of what that meant. "Yeah, I could always learn more dirty tricks," she said. "So… when do May and I start practicing and freaking Fitz out?" she asked, this time with a little more trouble in her gaze.

Coulson smirked her way for an instant. "May isn't going to be teaching you any dirty tricks."

"You … don't really strike me as the 'dirty tricks' kind of fighter, AC. No offense," she pointed out, gesturing at all of him and his neatly pressed suit.

"No, that's not generally my style," he agreed. "But, I thought we could go for another two-for-one arrangement, seeing as your last teacher of dirty tricks will need a little brushing up on his computer skills before the tour starts."

Skye tried to stow the grin so it wasn't _too_ obvious as she nodded slowly, she really did. "Oh, yeah, that's probably smart," she said.

"Try not to smile so hard, Skye. You're horrible at negotiations."

She couldn't help but chuckle at that as she tried to school her expression into a more neutral one. "Yes, sir. Sorry about that," she said in what she thought was a good approximation of a no-nonsense SHIELD agent. Though… it was hard to keep up the impression when she cracked and fell into a grin anyway.

He shook his head, not even wanting to ask her the next question. "So, how long do you think you'll need to get everything done — update wise, that is?"

"That… that's a really dangerous… you're letting _me_ set the…" She gaped at him and then, when she saw that he was smirking hard, tried to rein it in. "Okay. Um." She forced a frown and tried to think about it logistically instead of in terms of how many Friday dinners she thought she could make it through. "Maybe a couple weeks?" she offered.

"That's about what I had figured," he admitted. "Give or take."

"Oh good, then I did it right," she said, letting out all her breath with a little smile. "I mean… yeah. That sounds about right to me."

"There shouldn't be nearly as much snow this time around either," he told her. "So there's probably not much of a chance you'll get trapped there with no electricity."

"Oh. Darn," she said, trying to sound casual about it.

He shook his head. "He'll be distracted too — so good luck."

She couldn't help it, not with a setup like that. "Distracted by what, AC?" she asked, sure to flash him her best and flirtiest smile as she straightened up and tossed her hair back, tipping her shoulder forward.

Coulson smirked her way, and managed to rein in a smile of his own. "Hunting season."

"Really?" She was totally taken off-guard by that one, and her face showed it pretty clearly, even if she was reasonably sure he was just messing with her.

"Really," he said, nodding. "Even though it's illegal, most of the guys in Seven head out into the woods to look for game or go fishing this time of year. The Sentinels let it slip, because frankly, one good snowstorm cuts them off from the rest of the country, and they could all starve up there."

"Oh. Well… maybe you should reschedule," Skye said.

"Or you can tag along and learn how to be sneaky."

She considered it for a moment and weighed out her options. "Alright," she finally allowed. "But if he gets mad because we're interrupting hunting season, I am throwing you under the bus _so fast_."

"Just make sure you get at least a week in with the computers," Coulson said. "I'll let you know if you can stay a little longer."

She grinned at him for that, at least relaxed to hear that she wasn't likely to get cut short. "Sounds good."

Coulson shook his head with a chuckle as she left, and he made a point not to tell her that part of the reason he was sending her out like this was due in large part to the Hydra faction that was once again looking for her. Shooting her old SO had been traumatic for the young agent; the whole experience had been hard, and the girl needed a change of pace. If she happened to pick up a few dirty tricks along the way that would take Ward or his cronies off guard — well, all the better.

* * *

 _District Seven_

* * *

"You know, you really don't have to take me all the way to the door," Skye told May, her little rolling suitcase in hand as they got to the steps of the Victor's Village house where Logan lived.

"Yes I do," May replied, though she hadn't taken her eyes off of what was directly in front of her. "What are you going to do if he's not here when you get there?"

Skye glanced sideways at her mentor. "I… I could probably check with Heather or the girls to see if they know when he's coming back. Hang out until he shows up..."

"Sounds cozy," May replied dryly.

"See, I know you're teasing, but it really kind of is," Skye said with a little smile as she came to a stop just in front of Logan's door, then glanced over her shoulder at her SO, who didn't show the slightest signs of leaving or relaxing. She shook her head to herself and then quickly knocked on the door three times. "Hello?" she called out for good measure as she pushed the door open and poked her head in. "Anyone home?"

Logan came down the stairs with a frown — and stared for a second at the two women standing in the entry. "What are you two doing here?" he asked, though May had to smirk. She was right — had they been even another hour later getting out, they likely would have missed him, if the little pile of supplies on the coffee table was an indicator.

"Refresher course, apparently," Skye said with a little smile.

"In what?" he asked. "I don't think I've had time with May more than taking heat for her pranks — and I don't need a refresher in that." He was rolling the sleeves of a soft brown flannel shirt up as he talked. "I was getting set to head out myself … got work to do before winter hits."

"Coulson wants me to learn more dirty tricks," Skye told him outright. "After I punched a guy in the throat during our last mission," she added, to watch his reaction.

That got him to stop, and a genuine, crooked smile graced his features. "Oh yeah?"

"It was just like you said. He tried to defend low, so I went high," Skye said with a nod.

"And then she shot him four times, center mass," May put in with a little smirk.

At that, the smile slipped a bit. "So what, she didn't teach you to double tap?" Logan asked, giving May a look.

"I did," May said with a frown his way. "But Skye …"

"I don't like guns," Skye admitted. "I'm getting better, but ... I've never actually _shot_ anyone that wasn't a target or really far away…"

He let out a little breath and nodded her way. "Then you did damn good," he said. "Kill him?"

"I think so," she said, though she frowned at her own answer. "I'm not sure ... I sort of booked it out of there after I shot him."

"You gotta make sure they can't come back to bite you," he said, shaking his head. "Basics." He tipped his head toward the front door. "I know a Sentinel that can tell you about that. He assumed a kill that wasn't a kill, came after him when he nudged it with his boot."

"Oh yeah?" Skye asked, knowing full well exactly which Sentinel Logan was talking about as she broke into a little grin. "What happened?"

"The damn squirrel ran up his pants leg," Logan deadpanned.

"The sq- the _squirrel_?" Skye repeated, staring at him.

"Mean little bugger too," he said with a smile starting up again. "Funniest damn thing I ever saw, and he's never taken anything but a headshot on one since."

"That… that is amazing," Skye said, one hand covering her mouth to hide the giggles.

He chuckled along with her for a moment. "So what's your SO up to then?"

"Just making sure you're home," May told him with a little shrug. "Coulson told me it was hunting season, and I didn't want to strand her."

"Well I was on my way out… so you can come back in a few days— "

"I'll be back in two weeks," May told him. "She's staying."

"But I'm hunting."

"Take her with you. She's horrible at sneaking, and she could use the crash course," May said, her expression unmoving.

Logan stared back at her, clearly taken back and not even trying to hide it. "You're serious," he said, sitting on the back of the couch as he crossed his arms.

"I wouldn't have come all the way out here if I wasn't," May pointed out.

"A little warning might have been nice," he told her with a frown.

"I'll remember that next time," May said, already turning for the door. "It would be easier if your phone didn't have so many… issues," she added, this time with an unmistakable smirk.

When the door closed behind May, Logan let out a breath and looked from the closed door to the supplies he had out. "So. Crash course, eh?"

"I guess so. We're also supposed to get in at least a week's worth of refresher on computers."

He stared openly at her for a moment. "Okay then," he said before he unrolled his sleeves. "We'll do that first. Get it over with. I'm not going to cut a hunt short if I run out of time. I'll tell Mac to take the spot I had picked out for this week."

"Sorry," she said, looking a little sheepish. "I didn't know you'd be ... all…" she gestured at him.

"I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean," Logan said, looking down at himself. "But I'm always like this. And … I know I'll be in the Capitol for the _tour_. But that doesn't change the fact that I still gotta pull in enough for the kids. Mac hasn't got time to hunt that much."

"Oh, yeah." Her eyes widened at that, and she very quickly nodded. "Yeah, I totally get that."

"So you're up first," he told her. "Your room isn't rented out, by the way."

She had to smirk at that. "I'll try to keep from leaving any socks for you to find this time. I know I missed two."

"Probably still there," he said with a chuckle. "Unless Heather did something with 'em."

"Wouldn't be surprised if she did," Skye pointed out before she paused and took a small breath. "How is she, anyway?" she asked quietly.

"She's hanging in there. Got her sights on a new kid. A lot younger this time. This one's four or five. I think."

"Oh, good. Then he won't get Reaped or have to fight or anything," Skye breathed out.

"Won't happen anyhow," Logan said.

"Oh, I know the Games are through. I just meant ... that's good for _her_. She doesn't know, and I can't imagine… I mean, after Scott…" She trailed off and rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know how people in the districts _did_ this every year."

"Clearly, we're made of tougher stuff," he said with one eyebrow raised. "Powderpuff."

That at least got her to roll her eyes at him. "Hey, I'll have you know I can hold my own. I throat punched a guy, didn't I?"

He nodded and stood up, making a point to grab her suitcase for her and then headed for the stairs. "Yeah, and you did good. Now we need to show you some other nasty tricks."

"That's the plan," she agreed with a crooked smile. "And if we have time, we'll _have_ to tease Mac about the squirrel. That's the funniest thing I've heard all week."

"You can tease him anytime about that," he said. "He gets mad when I remind him that the poor little guy was just looking for nuts."

"You are horrible," Skye said, though she was laughing all the same.

"Someone has to pick on him." He gestured around the room. "But if we're going to work here, I'm going to change. Too many layers for indoors."

"You go ahead. I'll just set up in the living room," she said with a nod, hugging her laptop to her chest. "I don't think you've lost much of what we already went through, so this'll just be updating anyway for the new systems."

"Well I must have if we need a whole damn week of it," he said from the top of the stairs, pausing for just a moment before he set her suitcase in front of the spare room.

"Ask Coulson," she called back up to him. "I told him two weeks, and he split it down the middle — one for you to teach me, and one for me to teach you."

"Alright then," he said with a nod to himself. "A week of dirty tricks. Sure. No problem."


	6. Dirty Tricks

**Chapter 6: "Dirty Tricks"**

* * *

 _September 3_

 _District Seven_

* * *

Skye had been right; Logan had lost barely anything that she'd taught him, and instead of spending any time on real refreshers, she was more or less showing him the newest system hacks that she'd been able to use — including the one she'd used to hack the list of people being used against the victors. Not that he needed to know that's what she'd used it for.

Logan was running through the program she liked to test him with that morning, and both of them were sitting on the couch in the living room with coffee when Skye happened to glance out the window. "Wait a minute," she said.

"Did I screw somethin' up already?" Logan asked, already searching for his mistake with a little frown. "Gotta be a record."

"No, not you," Skye said, moving to the window with her coffee in hand. "What ... I mean. It was _green_ out there when I got here."

"Oh," he said before he glanced out the window. He shook his head and went back to what she'd told him to work on. "That. It wasn't all green. The green's pines, mostly. It was around thirty percent for everything else. Usually turns color quick. Should stick around for a few weeks or so before the trees _drop_ everything at the first hard frost."

"But … the slow build is even better," she argued.

"We don't get a slow build very often," he said, glancing up at her. "Gets cold too fast for that. Or the snow comes early."

"The weather up here is something else," she said with a little smirk.

"Yeah, we're in a rush for our fires and snow," he muttered, not really paying her much mind.

"Don't tell Coulson that. I'm 98% sure he scheduled this thing when he did so that there wasn't a chance of us getting snowed in again. You know, after last time when I was drunk in front of Nick Fury," she said.

He looked up at her over the top of the computer. "Did you get in trouble for that?"

"Not as much as I probably should have," Skye admitted. "I think Coulson was too entertained to _really_ get mad at me."

He frowned a bit and nodded. "Next time, we'll have to get Fury drunk too." He said it as if it was the most simple, easiest solution.

"Oh yeah. Dream vacation. Getting the director of SHIELD drunk with me," Skye deadpanned.

"He's alright after he's had a few," he said. "Takes about four of 'em for him to start to relax."

"How do you even know that?" she asked, her eyes wide for a moment.

"Wasn't just Ogun I was taking lessons from," he told her before he shrugged almost to himself. "And once in a while, Nick needed to relax. I'd talk him into the first two … the rest went on their own."

She stared at him before, all at once, she broke into a grin and laughed. "I can't even decide what my favorite part of that is. It's all... " She shook her head, laughed again, and took a long sip of coffee. "I guess I never pictured you being on drinking buddy terms with the director, all things considered."

"Nick's … Nick." He let out a sigh. "Easier to drink with than Viper and Creed."

"Yeah, that's not a real hard list to beat," she pointed out, one eyebrow raised. "And those are just the ones _you know_ that I know about."

"Hell, you probably got a better list than I do," Logan rumbled before he hit the last few keys and sat back. "Done."

She leaned over his shoulder to check his work for a moment, still grinning to herself, before she simply nodded and straightened up again. "And with that, you can officially get into Nebula's files. Congratulations."

"Ugh. I don't want to get into Nebula's anything." He frowned and turned to look at her. "Why are you in Nebula's unspeakables anyhow?"

"Oh," she said, turning a bit pink. "I have this … bad habit of hacking stuff I'm not supposed to when I'm ticked off. It's sort of relaxing. And these last Games…" She trailed off. "Anyway, I knew she was the one who took over from Selene — well, her and Gamora — and I thought I'd like to throw a wrench in that, you know?"

Logan let out a long breath and then sort of melted into the couch. "Yeah. How'd that work out for you?"

"Pretty well, actually," Skye said, sounding proud as she drew herself up. "I found plenty of info I was looking for, her list of people she's threatening… plus her clientele list..."

"Current for this last couple months of creeps too?" he asked.

She nodded. "I couldn't find the records from before she and her brother killed Selene, but yeah, everything after that, I've got it."

"Hill has a good list, I know," he said quietly.

"Yeah, Coulson told me to send her any of the names I can decrypt. I have all the files, but the names are encoded, so that's been my 'relaxing' project."

"Too bad not all of 'em are _on_ the records," he said under his breath, thinking of how that party had gone down with the other young victors.

She glanced at him for a moment with a totally open expression. "You know… I told Coulson who was being threatened so we can get them out the second everything goes down," she told him.

"Good," he said before he covered his face with his hands and let out a breath. He sounded perfectly relieved to hear it. "None of those people should have been on the radar. I've been adding names to Hill's list that won't show up otherwise, too. Off the record dealings, crap like that."

"Yeah, Hill's pretty vigilant about keeping it up. You should have seen the look on her face when I told her I had the encrypted records," Skye agreed. "She wants to _nail_ these guys. And I don't blame her."

"She _is_ nailing them," he said with a neutral expression.

"Already?" Skye was honestly surprised to hear it.

"Oh yeah," he said, nodding. "Four or five fell off the list during the first couple days or so when we got back to the Capitol."

"Good." Skye nodded. "I've seen how she has it organized — worst offenders at the top. It's too bad how high-profile some of them are, or they'd have been hit by now too."

"Yeah, she wants them to know what's coming for them," he said before he decided it was time to change the direction of the conversation. "Enough shop talk. Now what do we do?"

She glanced around the room for a moment. "Well, I've run you through a week's worth of courses in about three days? So as long as you don't rat me out, I'm totally fine with being done with this portion of the teaching tradeoff. You'll be _fine_ in the field. You haven't lost anything."

"Then it's your call. Dirty tricks, lies, or being sneaky?" He stopped and frowned her way. "I don't have nothin' nice to teach you, apparently."

"Well, you taught me how to play poker," she pointed out with a small smile. "We could start there if you want something nice. It's not a bad practice for lies."

"Pretty sure we just covered that I'm not capable of anything nice, but ... ladies' choice."

Skye frowned at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked him outright.

Logan paused and held her gaze for a moment before he decided to move on. "Not a thing. I'll get the cards," he said, ignoring her question outright and heading over to the kitchen to grab a deck. When he returned, he was already shuffling them. "What are we betting?"

She watched him for a moment, her eyes still narrowed, before she finally shrugged. "I did bring some money with me this time. Unless you want to wait til later and play for drinks," she offered, this time with a little smirk.

"Your call," he insisted, slowly shuffling the cards. "You're the one that's gotta learn to bluff, and I'm not gonna keep your money anyhow."

"I thought you said the fun was in the ante," she countered.

"It is," he agreed before he laid the deck down in front of her finally. "When you know how to bluff."

She sighed and rolled her eyes at him before she cut the deck. "Five card draw?"

"Izzat a question or a statement?"

"Just asking if that's what you want to play," she said. "Since I got to choose the ante and the game."

"That's what I want to play," he said with a little smirk.

She wasn't sure what to do with that smirk or that answer, so she made a face at him and dealt out the cards. "Is this the deck with the snowmen?" she asked over the top of her cards.

"You tell me," he said. "You're the one that put 'em there."

"You're the one that got the deck," she countered.

"They're both blue, so I couldn't tell you until one of us finds an ace." He picked up his cards and kept on smirking.

"I'd've kept them separate," Skye said. "But that's just me. Don't want to accidentally reveal my hand because I forgot which deck was which."

"Ya shouldn't give your hand away anyhow," he pointed out.

"If you taught me right, that much is true," she said with a little sly smile.

He shook his head at her then let out a breath and clicked his tongue. "Guess I didn't teach you well enough."

She smirked at him. "Alright, tough guy. Whatcha got?"

"Two small pair," he said as he laid his cards down.

She laid hers down with an easy shrug. "Ace high," she said, and there was her little snowman drawing on the ace of clubs.

"I was wonderin' if it was the snowman or the reindeer."

"Would you have known if I hadn't said anything?" she asked.

"Oh yeah. You smirked more," he admitted.

"Yeah, Coulson says I'm lousy at negotiations when I get what I want," Skye admitted.

"So all you were shootin' for was an ace?" he asked with a little frown. "Low standards."

"I just wanted to know if you'd kept the cards," she admitted.

"Perfectly good deck," he said with a shrug.

"With snowmen and reindeer on the aces."

"Better 'n Puck's deck," he said, and before she could ask, he leaned forward a bit and started to shuffle again. "You don't want to know."

She paused for a moment and then shook her head. "Lumberjacks. I can guess."

He smiled a bit wider. "Yeah. We're pretty predictable."

"Not all of you," she countered, biting her lower lip the slightest bit. "Some of you are pretty much the opposite of predictable."

"Sure," he said as he dealt the next hand. "The ones with permanent brain damage are trouble."

"And the really short ones that teach girls how to throat punch," she said, still grinning with her teeth over her bottom lip.

He set the rest of the cards down and held her gaze for a long moment. "Like I said …"

"You're a bad liar, Logan. At least tell me a lie that I _can't_ prove wrong," she said. "How are you supposed to teach me how to bluff if you suck at this?"

He chuckled as he picked up his hand. "I do _not_ suck at this," he said, shaking his head.

"You so do," she insisted.

"Believe what you want," he said, "But tell me, darlin' — this guy you hit, was it the one you wanted to hit?"

She nodded. "He tried to grab me, but …" She shrugged openly and let the sentence fall.

"Holdin' you too tight?" he asked, the cards momentarily forgotten. "'Cause that's what creeps do when they think you know enough to fight back."

She paused and blinked at him for a moment before she nodded. "Yeah, but I played dead weight before I hit him."

"Not bad," he said nodding. "Won't work on 'im again, though."

"Well, I think I killed him. Maybe."

"See—" He was nearly wincing as he tipped his head to the side. "—it's the 'maybe' that's got me thinkin' you didn't finish the job."

"I was sort of running from a lot of other soldiers at the time," she admitted.

"I know, I'm not criticizing," he said. "But if you're not sure he's dead, consider him alive and pissed off."

"Well, that's … disconcerting," she said.

"Paranoid, yeah, I've been told," he said with an easy shrug. "Also means I'm gonna be more thorough in taking them out." He leaned a little further forward and let his voice drop lower. "Cause the guys I'm going after, you don't really want 'em pissed off with a vendetta."

She stared at him for a moment. "That… is actually not a bad plan," she had to admit.

"Next time he gets a hold of you — and he'll try," he said. "I want you to lean as far forward as you can, then bash him in the face with the back of your head."

"You really think—"

"It _works_ ," Logan promised. "If not on that guy, then another one."

"Is there just… some kind of neon sign over my head about creeps?"

"You're going to be fighting Hydra, right?" he asked. "They'll do the same to anyone on your team. Well..." He paused and tipped his head to the side for a second. "Maybe not May. But it's not personal. It's more about the size advantage most of 'em will have."

"It kinda feels that way," she admitted. "At least with this guy."

"With _that_ guy, it is personal," he said. "He needs his ass kicked."

"I did shoot him four times," she pointed out.

"Nicer than I'd have been."

"But it's not personal for you," she said.

"No, I'm just mean," he admitted. "And I don't like when guys stalk women like that. Pisses me off."

"So you're a softie," she couldn't help but tease him. "An old-fashioned softie."

"Yeah," he said looking entirely unamused. "Very old-fashioned in making a point to see how many teeth I can fit down some handsy bastard's throat."

"Yeah, that's it, I'm taking you with me if that guy ever comes back from the dead," she decided.

"Just point him out, darlin'. He won't be long for this world."

She grinned at him. "Right. Awesome. It's a date. A really, really weird date killing the undead creep," she said, though she kept losing steam on her smile the more she spoke, wondering if her mouth had just gotten her in trouble again.

"Relax," he said soothingly. "By the time I've taught you half of my dirty tricks, you'll be more 'n ready to blow his doors off on your own. You won't need me at all."

"So…. that's a no on the weird killer date then."

"Didn't say that. Murder date is on. But you'll do the work, and I'll hold your purse," he said with a smirk.

That got a huge, beaming smile in response as she almost absently twisted a lock of hair, then seemed to realize she was grinning like that. She stopped just as quickly and silently dealt out five cards apiece.

* * *

 _September 5_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

It was a lucky coincidence for Clint that he happened to be on his way out of medical — a quick surveillance mission had ended up a little hairier than he'd expected, and he _might_ have fallen into a dumpster — when Bobbi arrived in the Tahiti Wing through the entrance by the med bay. She'd gone back to Two for a few days, and he broke into a huge grin when he saw that she was back.

"Hey, Bob," he called out and rushed over to wrap her up like he'd normally do when she had been gone for so long — but instead, he got a stiff arm in the shoulder and a look that he had simply never seen her turn on _him_ before. "Woah, hey, what's up?" he asked, taking a step back when he saw the wide eyes and nearly panicked look on her face.

"You _can't_ right now," she told him seriously. "Not until after Simmons clears me. I was undercover—"

"And you can't kiss anybody because…." He looked her over for a moment and then shook his head when he figured it out. "You know what, Bob, your job takes all the joy out of life sometimes."

"In this case, you're right."

"Hey, do you think you could say that again in front of more witnesses?" he asked her with a teasing, crooked grin, because she looked so tired and _upset_ that she clearly needed to cheering up. "And is there any reason I can't at least hug you? Kiss your cheek? Something?"

" _No_ kissing. But … you can go with me if you want," she said. "Simmons is the quickest, and she can fix this."

He watched her for a moment with a frown before he took her hand and gave it a big squeeze. "Alright, let's go find out if its terminal," he joked, then paused. "Unless it is, in which case, that's my bad."

"It is — just not for me," she said. "I promise, I'll explain ... I … I'm going to need to tell Simmons what it is… or … you'll understand.'

He cocked his head to the side, not sure he _would_ understand, considering Bobbi's biochemical expertise, but he went with her down to the med bay and flagged Simmons for her anyway. "Hey, Bobbi'd like you to fix something for her real quick," he called out.

Simmons' head came up, and she looked between the two blondes for a moment, her gaze resting on Bobbi's expression for a good long time before she very quickly gathered up her things to usher them into a smaller room off of the lab.

"I need you to swab my lips," Bobbi said once they were in a more private area with Simmons. "It turns out Viper has a _unique_ delivery system for her personal mix of poisons, and they are _potent._ "

"Your… lips?" Simmons repeated.

"Lipstick," Bobbi said. "I know most of it is off — I just couldn't stand to wear it — but I know … there _has_ to be trace amounts, and even though _I'm_ immune to it in reasonable doses ... could you please just swab me? You can use what you find to come up with an antidote for when we need it — and we _will_ need an antidote."

"Right then," Simmons said, quickly getting to work, though she kept glancing at Bobbi sideways as she did so. "Lipstick… that's…. And you were wearing it?"

"She had me help her test it," Bobbi explained. "The guy was on the ground in less than ten seconds."

"Oh." Simmons eyes were wide as she quickly nodded and rushed off with the swab to run it through her analyses.

Clint waited long enough for the door to close behind Simmons before he crossed the room to Bobbi and jumped up onto the seat with her, resting his chin on her shoulder as he wrapped her up from behind. "So, after you kill Viper — you know, _after_ you have all the intel you need from her? — you and I should disappear for a while. You _need_ a vacation," he told her.

"I don't even know if that guy died or not," she admitted.

"You sure I can't kiss your… I could kiss your hand or your neck or…something. You need it," Clint said, frowning as he looked her over. "This whole thing — you hate it so much. When is Fury going to pull the plug and let you walk away from it?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It sounds like she has solid ties to Hydra. We just … we're not even sure what this organization is, or what they have planned."

"If I wasn't dead, I'd sign up to see you more," he said, only half joking. "You could use the backup. _Poison lipstick_. C'mon, Bob. That's nuts."

" _She_ is nuts," Bobbi agreed. "She's got more than one lipstick, too. One that kills and another that incapacitates. I don't know which one I have."

He frowned for a long moment before he nestled into her neck and pulled her in tightly. "Sorry, Bob," he muttered.

"With some luck, I'll be able to get away from Viper quickly," she said.

"Yeah? What do you need — and can I do anything to help?" he asked, picking his head up with an almost hopeful expression.

"I'll tell Fury that I'm formally requesting you as backup if it becomes an issue."

He nodded at that and went back to pulling her to him tightly, just to reassure her that she had someone on her side.

A short while later, Simmons came in, looking disturbed but not tense like she was when she left. "It's a milder toxin," she said. "It won't kill, even if taken internally — instead, it should produce a simple paralysis." She smiled at both of them for a moment. "So, good news! It's not as bad as you thought." She picked up a few things from the counter and brought them to her. "However, I would _still_ strongly recommend cleaning up anything that you believe you may have touched with your lips before any practical testing of how non-toxic you are."

"Thanks, Simmons," Clint cut in before Bobbi could get there, already taking her hand with a crooked grin. "C'mon, Bob. Let's get you cleaned up." He leaned in a little closer to whisper his next words. "And maybe, if we have time, we'll do a little research."


	7. Coyotes and Spiders

**Chapter 7: "Coyotes and Spiders"**

* * *

 _September 9_

 _District Seven_

* * *

Skye had spent the last five days on the mountain while Logan showed her how hunting season went around the district and more importantly, how to sneak quietly over the leaves among other dirty tricks. But mostly, it had been a lot of sitting and waiting and getting progressively colder as an early chill settled around the mountain.

They had blankets and a fire. But still. It was getting _cold_ , especially at night, and it wasn't as pleasant as it had been when the cold meant being snowed in at the cabin with a warm fire and poker.

She was sitting around the fire when Logan had killed the moose during the hunting trip, but when she saw it up close, it looked like a lot bigger job than she'd thought they'd have on their hands, and he had spent the better part of the day getting the thing set to bring back to the cabin for the kids and Heather. He had it tied high up in a tree, and he had managed to clean himself up in a stream that he promised her was ice cold as he held his hands near the fire.

"We'll head back in the morning. I'm not dragging a hide full of meat through wolf country in the dark," he said. "And it's cold enough it'll be fine to hang for the night."

"Yeah, that's great for the moose and all," she said as she responded by wrapping herself up that much tighter. "But I think my nose is going to fall off."

"Yeah, we're not going to let that happen," he said with a little smirk. He tossed a few more pieces of wood on the fire and waved her over. "Come on. You can get closer."

She scooted over, the blanket pulled up over her nose for the full effect as she leaned toward the fire a little more. "I don't get it. You do this for fun?"

He drew in a deep breath and had to smile to himself. "I do this to get away from everyone."

"Oh, well. It does that," she had to admit. "There's nobody up here, really."

"Nope," he had to agree. "This is pretty much my mountain."

"Not _my_ mountain?" she teased lightly.

"You're making a good go at it," he laughed.

"I'm going to freeze out here, and _then_ it'll be my mountain, since I'll be living on it. Or ... not living, as the case may be," she said, still clutching at the blankets they'd brought.

"I already told you I'm not going to let you freeze," he said, shaking his head. "I'll huddle up with you."

"You'll… wait, what?" She picked her head up out of the blankets as a clear sign that she was sure she must have misheard him.

"It'll double up your blankets — and give you a heater," he said. "I'll curl up with you."

She stared at him. She could see the logic in what he was saying, of course, it was just… "That…"

"I know. Pretty rotten options. Huddle up or freeze half to death. I didn't plan it that way. I promise."

That got her to laugh, purely out of disbelief at how he was taking it, and she reached over to smack him in the arm. "That is _not_ what I said. Don't put words in my mouth."

"You weren't saying anything. Leaves it wide open that way."

She shook her head. "It's just… not exactly what I expected to be doing."

"I'm open to other options if that's not good for you," he said.

" _No_ ," she said quickly and then turned a brilliant shade of pink. "No, no that's — uh — that's fine with me," she tried to recover.

"When you're too cold, say so, and we'll settle in for the night."

"See, that's not a decision you should put in my hands, because I'm freezing right now, but I know it could get colder, and... "

"Here's how it's gonna work," Logan explained calmly before she could talk herself into an even deeper pit. "You lay closer to the fire — and I'll keep your back warm. Even if it does get colder, you'll be fine."

"Okay, but what about you?" she asked.

"I come out here alone. Don't worry about me."

She watched him for a moment like she wasn't sure if he was messing with her or trying to be a stupid gentleman or what, but she also wasn't sure if there was a time limit on the offer, so she quickly nodded. "Okay. Okay, so I'm just gonna…. Okay." She decided talking wasn't her best option at this point and instead she tried to very carefully slip out of her sitting position and hunker down closer to the fire.

Logan shook his head at her and tried very hard not to chuckle as he threw an extra log on the fire and came over to help her get situated as he curled up behind her. "Relax," he said over her shoulder. "I promise you won't freeze."

"That is not actually the part that… you know what, never mind," she muttered.

"You won't burn either," he chuckled quietly from far closer to her than she was used to. He knew exactly what she was nervous about, but he pointedly ignored it as he arranged the blankets so that they were both covered up well and then settled in contouring her from behind.

"You're hilarious," she deadpanned.

"If you don't know by now that I'll be a gentleman about it, then I don't know what to tell you."

"Oh, I know you will; that's what—" She caught herself in a rush, and he paused for an instant. "Yeah, no, it's all good. I trust you," she mumbled, quieter.

"Wake me up if you get too cold," he said. "I'll keep throwing logs on through the night."

She nodded at that and did her best to get comfortable without seeming too … well. She did her best, and eventually, she did drift off to sleep, perfectly cozy with the fire in front of her and Logan curled up behind her and a whole lot of blood rushing to her cheeks all night.

When she woke up the next morning, though, she was surprised to find that she wasn't _just_ huddled up with him. During the night, he'd shifted. He had completely wrapped around her in a good, solid hug. He had one arm around her waist, his nose half buried in her hair — and all of a sudden, she wished she hadn't woken up at all. No, she would play at being asleep for a while longer, because this — she was _not_ moving out of this.

She was awake, though, and even though she spent a good long while enjoying the moment, she did glance out into the trees on occasion. And finally, she spotted something she couldn't just ignore. It wasn't the size of a squirrel or rabbit, so it had her a little on edge as she reached over to tap Logan's arm insistently, though she was almost scared to move too much. "Logan," she whispered. "Logan, there's something out there."

He took a deep breath and picked his head up. "Where?" he asked, looking for a direction, already searching deeply into the trees around them. When she tipped her head toward where she'd seen it, he propped up a bit on the arm he'd been using for a pillow and took a few moments to find what it was that had her spooked before he slid back down and curled in again. "It's nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep."

"Well, what _is_ it?" she whispered. She was sure there was no chance she'd be going back to sleep anyway, and she wanted to know what it was that was going to eat her.

"There's a couple of coyotes back toward where I killed the moose," he said with a rasp in his voice as he spoke low. "And an eagle in the tree. None of 'em will bother you."

"Coyotes?" she repeated.

"They're like wolves, only stupider and smaller and not nearly the guts." He still hadn't picked his head up from where he'd nestled back in.

"And they're not going to look at us and think: 'Oh look. Easy breakfast'?"

"No," he promised. "Easy breakfast's in a pile down where that moose died suddenly. It's 'bout a quarter mile off. Far enough they won't come this way."

She frowned for a moment as she thought it over and then had to nod, trying to relax like he'd said. "Alright, I'm trusting you on this, but if I get eaten, I'm blaming you."

"You won't get eaten," he said as he gave her a little squeeze. "Now go back to sleep. It's too early to get up."

She wasn't sure she could when the coyotes had spooked her and her adrenaline was still pumping, but she also didn't want to move when he was all curled up like that, so she closed her eyes and at least made the effort, more enjoying the fact that he was still staying where he was than anything else.

* * *

 _September 10_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

The first signal that Charles and Peter had that Miles was waking up was the fact that almost as soon as the sedation started to wear off, he was moving, his fingers tapping against the edge of the bed, his eyes moving underneath closed lids until he opened them and immediately seemed to try to take in the entire room at once, squinting against the light and clearly put off by the whole setup.

"Mr. Morales," Charles said gently. "Welcome back. How do you feel?"

Miles jumped the slightest bit at the sound of another voice and turned to see the other occupants of the room — first Charles, then Peter — and then simply closed his eyes again. "I don't want to know what's going on. Don't tell me. I'm sure it's freakier than anything in my head."

"You're alive again, Miles," Charles said, though he couldn't help but be amused by the reaction. It was certainly unique in his experience.

Mile peered one eye open. "Mmm. No, I don't think so."

Charles had to smile. "Then you'll have to be wrong," he said. "Mr. Parker wanted to thank you for teaming up with Gwen."

Miles opened both eyes this time and peered at Peter for a moment. And Peter, for his part, gave the younger boy his best, most encouraging grin before Miles burst out with, "I _tried_ to catch her!", looking entirely serious.

"I know! I know, it's okay," Peter said, both hands up in front of him. "She's here too."

"She is?" That got Miles to sit up, though he pressed a hand to his forehead almost as soon as he did. "Oooh. Don't do that too fast, guys. That is not a very good idea."

"Yeah, go slow. Take your time. And hey … I'll be your tour guide," Peter said proudly. "Spider to spider, you know."

Miles grinned at that. "Sounds like the best teamup ever," he agreed before he paused. "Um. Tour guide of what, though?"

"Right!" Peter looked to Charles, who nodded his head before the young man continued in a rush. "So we've got a revolution we're building? And it's totally secret, and totally, like, awesome. Really. We're all cloak and dagger and super sneaky cruising around and taking out all the bad guys that hold the Capitol up … and oh! There's a _lab._ That is just … this lab is amazing. You'll love it."

Miles stared at Peter openly for a good long moment, clearly taking a while to process _all_ that Peter had just dropped on him. "O...kay," he said at last. "So ... what do you expect me to do? I mean…" He gestured at himself. "I'm not exactly made of cloak and dagger super spy material here."

"Which … is what the lab is for. You _are_ supposed to be super smart, right? Or was that just hype?" Peter asked. "I mean, Gwen said all kinds of nice things? But she says nice stuff about me too, so you know…. Grain of salt."

Miles drew himself up a bit. "Well, _I_ like to think I'm pretty smart. I was working on this project back home. I could tell you about it… I told Gwen about it…. She really said nice things about me?" he asked, sounding as if that was the best thing he could possibly imagine.

"Come on," Peter said. "Let's get you down to the rest of the group, and then I can show you the lab. You can tell me about it on the way, and we can make sure you can get whatever you need to make it happen."

"Great!" Miles swung his legs around and pushed himself up to his feet, swaying slightly with his arms out for balance until he got the hang of it. "Do you mind — can I ask — do you know who won, or are the Games still going on up there?"

"America won," Peter said. "It's the beginning of September, by the way."

"Wait… it is?" Miles swung his head around to face Peter. "That's a substantial chunk of time to be missing!"

"It is," he said, nodding. "But as I understand it, the more … um. More than simply stabby cases take longer."

"Yeah. I was stabbed a _lot_ ," Miles said, shaking his head. "By my double, no less, which is crazy and — hey wait a minute, did you say America won?"

Peter nodded. "Yes … America won. She isn't real happy about it either."

"Uh, no. No, she would not be," Miles said, wide-eyed. "How… _how_ did that even….?"

"Okay … so. Here's what happened," Peter said as he threw his arm over Miles' shoulders and started to dive into exactly what the younger spider had missed while he was dead.


	8. No One Expects the Hudson Inquisition

**Chapter 8: "No One Expects the Hudson Inquisition"**

* * *

 _September 10_

 _District Seven_

* * *

Skye had surprised herself when she'd fallen back asleep in the wee hours of the morning, and when she did finally wake up, it was because her space heater had finally gotten up and stoked the fire hotter.

When she'd finally looked around herself, he was sitting nearby with a coffee pot over the fire and a mug in his hand. "Mornin'," Logan said roughly, a rasp clear in his voice that gave away that he really hadn't been up for too long either.

She took the mug he handed her and woke up fairly quickly — the ground all around them just outside of their small circle was covered in a heavy frost, but she was still a lot more cozy than she thought was possible out in the open like that.

When they finished their coffee, he packed up camp quickly, and the two of them headed to the tree where Logan had left the moose. She stood at the bottom of the tree and watched while he zipped up it to untie his kill, then tried to help as he arranged a few little saplings as a sort of sled to haul it all back to the District center.

He stood between the two long staves that the meat, hide, and all their gear was piled on and simply began to drag it to town like a pack horse.

They weren't too far out from their camp when Skye realized that there was a handful of wolves trotting alongside them as they went. Their sheer size was surprising, and now that she'd seen them herself in person, she saw how much smaller the coyote had been. To her relief, though, the big timber wolves never approached any closer than about ten yards out, and though that felt far too close for Skye's comfort, Logan didn't pay them one bit of attention the whole time.

When they got to town, not long after the wolves dropped back, it was clear that Heather had been keeping an eye out for the two of them — or had asked the kids to. Skye saw some of the younger kids running around just beyond the treeline — and a few of them were clearly sprinting to Heather's place to tell her that Logan was back. She glanced over to Logan with raised eyebrows. "So we're going to have a small army when we get back," she said. "Your Sentinel friend is … um ... attentive."

"He knows he's gonna be taking care of most of the meat," Logan told her. "I'm not gonna keep much at my place unless he needs the storage."

"Right, since you don't know when you'll be around," Skye nodded.

"Simple logistics," he said, keeping his focus forward. "Nothin' to worry about."

Skye didn't think Logan quite understood her concern, though, especially when little Elsie Dee came right up to Skye once the kids got closer to them with her arms crossed and an appraising sort of look on her face. "You're _back_ ," Elsie said, her head tipped to one side.

"Uh, yeah," Skye said. "Is that okay with you?"

"Don't encourage her," Logan said, frowning at the little blonde. "She thinks she runs things already."

"Only because I _do_ ," Elsie pointed out, drawing herself up importantly before she gave Skye a quick once-over. "Okay, you can stay, but that means you also have to stay for Miss Heather's dinner."

"I think I can manage that," Skye said.

"You're going to need to _wash up_ before dinner," Elsie added, frowning at a leaf that was stuck in Skye's hair. "You look like you've been sleeping _on the ground."_

"I have been," Skye said, this time with a little grin, though she quickly reached up to remove the leaf. "We were up in the mountains."

"Have you been out in the woods with him this _whole time_?" she asked. "Because that's a looong time."

"Just five days," Skye told her. "That's not too long, right?"

"I don't know. I'll have to ask Miss Heather," she said, shaking her head. "Seems like a long time to be out in the woods. _Alone._ "

"I didn't mind it so much toward the end," Skye said, glancing over at Logan for a moment before she grinned to herself.

"You're _weird_ ," Elsie said with her nose scrunched up before she took off at a dead run for Logan's place.

"She's judgemental," Logan said with a shrug as he kept trudging along.

A short while later, after Logan and Skye got back to the cabin, Mac came to help Logan with the moose. Of course, since Skye really didn't know what to do with that, she just left those two to the dirty job. She was glad when Mac _only_ gave her a sideways glance of recognition simply because it seemed he was more interested in getting the meat in than in giving her a hard time. She wouldn't get the same guarantee with Heather or the kids, and she knew it.

"So Elsie wasn't making up stories," Heather said from the doorway to the kitchen, her hands wrapped up in a dish towel as she looked Skye up and down with a critical eye.

"Hi again," Skye said with an attempt at a friendly wave. "Nice to see you, Heather."

"Yes, hello," she replied. "We can talk after you get cleaned up. The guys will be a while — that's a big job."

"Yeah, I know, I saw," Skye agreed, though she was suddenly self-conscious of how dirty she was and the fact that Elsie had said it looked like she slept on the ground.

Skye took her time getting cleaned up and presentable and _finally_ came downstairs a while later with clean clothes and freshly applied makeup. At least now she felt as if she'd distanced herself from the mountain. Thankfully, she didn't have to immediately deal with Heather either, as almost the moment she was out of her room, she was mobbed. The kids had heard from Elsie that there was a new playmate to be had, and those that remembered Skye from when she had been around last time led the charge to get her to play tag with them outside.

Heather gave Elsie a look as the group pulled Skye outside — past Mac and Logan making quick work of putting the moose up, both of them were pretty well bloodied up from the process as Logan cut and Mac packed.

Skye was relieved to find that it was easy to fall back into playing with the kids, all of whom seemed enthusiastic to include her in their games. She'd been worried it would be weird, after everything that had happened since the last time she was there, but in no time at all, she was half covered in giggling kids who seemed to want to tackle her and pile on her more often than they actually wanted to run around playing tag.

When it was clear that the guys were more or less done with their messy chore, Heather came out to send them in and call for the kids to come inside and set the table. They had all filed in about the same time that Mac and Logan finished up, and the two of them were sent off to clean up before dinner under threat of Heather. And though both men headed off to do just that, Logan made his way up to actually wash up, since he too was wearing five days of hunting dirt on top of everything else.

But that left Heather and Mac with Skye as the kids buzzed around the dining room and kitchen setting the table.

"I didn't realize that Capitolites even _knew_ how to hunt," Heather started out.

"I don't, actually," Skye admitted.

"Then why in the world would you ever go out there with him? He has a tendency to go into the harder hunts than everyone else," she said with a frown. "Mac doesn't even like making those treks."

"I don't like going on the mountain," Mac admitted. "It's hard hiking. Too many mountain lions."

"Oh, there were mountain lions _on top of_ the coyotes and wolves? Great," Skye muttered.

"And bears," Mac said. "Can't forget the bears."

"No, we wouldn't want to forget those," Skye said, shaking her head before she turned Heather's way. "Look, I'm only here for a few weeks, so we were multitasking. He gets to go on the hunt, and I do my job."

"Just a few weeks at a time," Heather said. "What … exactly _is_ your job?"

"Logan already told you that," Skye said.

"But I'm asking _you_ now," she said, her arms crossed over her chest.

Skye let out a sigh. "Right now? I can't tell you. Ask me again next time you see me; you might get a kick out of it, actually."

"In another nine months?" she asked.

Skye stopped for a moment. "That ... wasn't my fault," she said, suddenly aware of the fact that her face was flushing. She hadn't realized that it had been _nine months_ , and all of a sudden, she realized just how bad the timing looked. "We just… got really busy."

"Heather … is a little … she thinks it's her job to watch out for everyone," Mac said, giving his wife a little look. "We don't want anyone working him over."

"Believe me, that is so _not_ what I'm trying to do," Skye swore, one hand over her heart.

"Not a one of you is subtle at all," Logan muttered as he made his way into the kitchen. "Or quiet." He gave Heather a little look and a shake of his head. "Not really your problem either way."

"Someone's got to look out for you. Heaven knows _you_ don't," Heather pointed out with one hand on her hip.

"I look out for myself just fine," Logan argued, leaning against the counter as Heather squared up to him.

Mac made his way a little closer to Skye to whisper over his shoulder to her, "They do this every single time. Pay no attention."

"Oh, so it's not a show for my benefit then?" She had to smirk.

"Oh no," Mac said, shaking his head while Heather and Logan went back and forth with the same old argument. "This … this has been the argument for years. It was a lot worse when she couldn't pop in on him and see for herself that he was still breathing."

"She must really be getting some good use out of that spare key," Skye said with a little sideways grin.

"Wearing it out," he agreed with a little laugh. He leaned in a little closer so the whisper wasn't as fake looking. "Really though. What's the story?"

"I really can't tell you," Skye insisted.

"You can't tell _me_? Really? Is this one of those SHIELD information exchanges? Because I've got information for you if you need to trade."

She turned to face Mac with a little disbelieving laugh. "You clearly can't be trusted with secrets if you're that ready to spill them," she couldn't help but tease.

"I just wanna know what your interest level is — and I'll tell you something that no one official knows."

She quirked an eyebrow at that, definitely tempted — and he knew it, of course. "Are you asking what my professional or personal interest level is? Because those are two different answers."

"I don't care what your professional interest is," he said. "Heather hides behind it because she wants to know everything — but hey. SHIELD is SHIELD. I know what you guys do."

"Okay." Skye wanted to argue that she wasn't _really_ SHIELD, but considering how much she'd been going out with the team, getting more involved, she didn't think that argument held any water anymore. "Then... personally…" She paused and glanced over her shoulder to make sure Logan was still waist-deep in kids and Heather. "Personally, I'd like it if my _professional_ job didn't make it totally, wildly, completely out of bounds for me to be anything but professional, but _don't tell him that._ "

"Why in the world would I let that kind of information slip to my clueless cousin?" He raised his finger to his lips and raised an eyebrow her way. "Keep it close now."

Skye couldn't help that her jaw dropped at the casual familial reveal, though she at least made some attempt at recovery. "You're horrible at keeping secrets and you know it," she accused him.

"No one in the district knows that," Mac replied. "It'd be completely illegal."

She stared at him as it settled in. _Cousins_. "I just thought ... with how close you guys are …" She cleared her throat. "I mean, that explains a _lot_."

"I'm sure it does," he said, nodding. "And…" He paused and let his grin widen. "It's _tragic_ that your job is as much of a pain as mine is. Don't worry; I won't even tell Heather. It's more fun watching her try to get to the bottom of it."

"She really is determined," Skye said, glancing toward Heather.

"And off-base. She's been reading the papers."

"You know those are total crap, right?" Skye asked quickly. "I mean, complete and total crap."

"Oh yeah, but … they feed the imagination. Especially when Logan told her not to read between the lines. She's getting creative with her narrative."

"Well, it's not like that at _all_ ," Skye insisted. "And that — you can take my word on that as a SHIELD agent who knows things. It's not like that. He hates those people he has to appear with in the Capitol."

"I don't need to take your word for it. I can see it clear enough," Mac said before he shifted to rest a hand on Skye's shoulder. "Come on; let's get you through this dinner, and then I'll get the herd out so you can finish up your _vacation_ in relative peace."

She shot Mac a grateful look, though they had hardly stepped into the chaos that was the kitchen and dining area before the kids saw it as an opportunity to mob the both of them, with Elsie directing everyone on where to sit.

Mac wound up with a shy little boy in his lap by the time all was said and done. He was new — Skye hadn't seen him before — and he didn't talk to most of the kids, but he brightened right up around Mac and whispered in his ear to tell him anything he wanted to say.

"I don't think I've met… a few of these kids, actually," Skye said, though she was obviously watching the one attached to Mac.

"New kid," Logan said. "Happens all the time."

"That's Josh," Elsie said. "He's four." She leaned really close to Skye to whisper in her ear, "His dad was a cutter."

"Oh." Skye glanced at the little boy and then back at Elsie. "He really likes Mac, though," she whispered back to the little girl.

"That's because Mac is really nice," Elsie said. "And he took care of him when _it_ happened."

Skye nodded at that and glanced back at Mac and Josh. "Yeah, Mac and Heather are good at taking care of people, huh?" she said as she set her gaze toward Logan with a crooked smile.

Elsie giggled quietly. "She calls us strays," she said. "She's a goober sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" Skye asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Sometimes more than that … like when she's playing twenty questions," Elsie said as she looked to Heather. "Which she should not do."

"Who told you that, Elsie?" Heather asked.

"My teacher," Elsie said as she turned her way. "She said interrogations are not lady-like."

"Why was your teacher telling you about interrogations, Elsie Dee?" Heather asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Because I was interrogating a jerk that was pushing a couple of the girls around on the playground."

"Then I think it's perfectly fine for you not to be lady-like. That wasn't very gentlemanly of him anyway," Heather said with a little smirk.

"Did you take out his knees?" Logan asked with the corner of his mouth quirking upward that turned into a crooked little smile when Elsie proudly nodded her head.

"And I knocked out _three_ teeth," the little blonde proudly proclaimed.

"I don't think it was the interrogation your teacher was concerned about, then," Mac said, not even bothering to hide the huge grin until Heather shook her head at him, and then he made a glancing effort that didn't hide the grin at all.

"If they push you around," Logan said, "they're asking for it."

"Did Logan teach you how to knock his teeth out?" Skye couldn't help but ask. "You know he doesn't like boys who pick on girls."

"No, he does _not_ ," Mac agreed. "It's like a twitch."

"You know, Elsie," Skye said with a little smile, "Logan showed me how to deal with guys that pick on girls too. He's a pretty good teacher."

"Oh, is that what the _story_ is this time?" Heather asked, not bothering to hide the near-sniff as she dove right back into her interrogation — despite whatever Elsie had to say about it. "Teaching SHIELD agents to fight? I find that a bit hard to believe."

"She knew how to fight," Logan said easily. "But I showed her how to fight _dirty_ and off the book."

"Now _that_ I believe," Mac said in a dry tone that had Heather glaring at him.

"I'm really more of a desk agent — or I was when he started teaching me," Skye added.

"She had a guy trying to give her a hard time that was in the organization and above her fighting level," Logan explained. "Or he was."

"And you've been coming out here for more tips from our little barroom brawler?" Mac asked Skye with one raised eyebrow, though he was smirking the slightest bit.

"Mmhmm. And I'll be able to kick you across the lawn into Groot's gardens by the time I'm done," Skye said, matching his smirk.

"I think I'd like to see that," Mac said, smiling now. "When are you supposed to leave? I don't want to miss giving you a chance to chuck a Sentinel."

"A few days," Skye said. "Try and come by when my SO comes to get me so she can be properly impressed."

"I'll keep an eye open for the transport," Mac promised.

The rest of the dinner went relatively peacefully, and Josh even seemed to get a bit more relaxed as the meal ended, clearly ready to curl up and go to sleep and still half-attached to Mac. But true to his word, Mac made a point to usher everyone out so Logan and Skye could enjoy the rest of their time together, and even Heather didn't seem exactly set to argue when she had a tiny boy to tuck in.

When the doors closed behind them, Logan turned to Skye and couldn't help but bring it up. "Tell me that those kids are on the list to get out, please."

Skye nodded quickly, wide-eyed. "All of them. And the orphanage is wired to make sure the people running it don't get in the way."

He thought about it for a moment and nodded his head. "How official do you think all the legal documents are going to be come, say, February?"

"If it's issued by the Capitol? Not very," Skye said.

"But the districts?"

"I'm not sure. That's kind of gray," Skye admitted.

"I think … I might have a little project for you. But if you can't pull it off, I'll take it to Nick," he said. "I'd rather not involve him if I can help it. I don't think he'd get it."

Skye perked right up. He'd never really asked her for anything, and this sounded important. "Sure — what do you need?"

"Adoption papers," Logan said. "For probably all of those that come here — and one for Scott too."

She paused at that, suddenly wondering why he was including Scott when she knew he didn't know about Tahiti. But she didn't even get a chance to let her horrible poker face show before Logan continued, obviously trying to explain his logic.

"I know it's stupid, but Heather was trying to get the papers though before he went in," he explained. "It'd be something for her to hold on to."

Skye gaped at him for a moment before she rushed forward and flung her arms around his neck to hug him. "Yes! Yes, of course. I'll get started as soon as I get back," she muttered as she hugged him tighter, totally floored by the sweet gesture — though she made a mental note to make sure the paperwork for Scott got through for a _live_ adoption after they brought him back in Tahiti… She could pull some strings, she was sure…

But Logan hadn't expected her emotional response, and he was taken back for just a moment before he wrapped his arms around her too. "You okay?" he asked, holding her gently as she pulled herself together.

She clearly hadn't expected anything like that out of him, and she was trying to backtrack quickly. "Of course I am. That's just — that's really sweet of you," she replied.

"I hope she agrees. Chances are fifty-fifty that she'll accuse me of tryin' to make her cry."

"She _will_ cry," Skye said, taking a step back to look him in the face. "I hope you're ready for that."

He shrugged lightly. "If she's not yelling at me, she's crying on me these days. I'm very disappointing."

"That's just not true," Skye said, shaking her head. "Girls don't cry on anyone they don't care about," she added as testimony.

"I know, but it's easier to think of it the other way," Logan admitted.

"Never took you for the 'easy path' type," she couldn't help but tease him.

"Now and again? Yeah," he said. "Everyone is."

She took a step back and cleared her throat. "Yeah, well, I'll get that started when I get back — and make sure I get it going with SHIELD too; they'll probably be more official than anything else come February…"

"Thanks," he said with a little smirk before he let out a breath. "So. Feel like kicking my ass — or do you wanna play cards?"

"How about I wipe the floor with you in both and then we call it a night?" she asked.

"Fair enough," he agreed before he brought her over to clear out a spot in the living room. "You wanna break holds or start throws?"

"Well, I _did_ promise Mac I'd throw him across the lawn…"

He tipped his head to the side for a moment. "Throws it is."


	9. Welcome Back to Reality

**Chapter 9: "Welcome Back to Reality"**

* * *

 _September 13_

 _District Seven_

* * *

It was the last night that Skye was supposed to be in District Seven, and when they were done with all the training and joking and poker playing, she and Logan decided to step out onto the porch to enjoy the crisp fall air before the party was broken up.

They had a little campfire in the fire pit, and when she made mention of being cold, Logan had to laugh before he invited her over to where he was sitting — just to have her sit in front of him so he could wrap his arms around her to warm her up. At least that was what Skye was running with.

So it wasn't a big shock that they didn't hear the knock on the door, or the second knock — considering they were outside. In fact, they didn't realize they had company at all until May stepped out of the living room onto the deck and cleared her throat.

Logan looked up at her but didn't make a move to change his position. "Plenty of room by the fire," he offered as the wolves howled in the not-too-far distance.

May watched the two of them for a moment with one single eyebrow raised while Skye seemed to turn steadily more mortified under her gaze. "We're leaving. All of us," May said simply. "Put it out."

"Alright," Logan said. "I didn't think they wanted me back so soon."

"Well, there _is_ a lot to get done between now and January," May said with a little smirk as she watched Skye disentangle herself from the blankets she'd basically been living in for the past few days. "I don't know when or if you'll be back, so make sure you grab everything you need," she added, not specifying which of them she was addressing.

"Got it," Logan said, though before he poured the water over the fire, he had to look her way. "Do I have a new trainer? Pretty sure Fury doesn't want to fight me anymore."

"No, he doesn't," May said, the smirk widening. "Yes, you have a new trainer."

"Is it you?" he asked with a little smirk and an entirely troublemaking look.

"No," she replied. "You're not that lucky."

"Obviously," he said. "You saw my last trainer."

"I did. And I saw him when you finished training with him," May said.

"I only did what I was told," Logan defended, though he paused and smirked to himself. "Except the stick. That _was_ my idea."

"I thought it was a nice touch," she said, leaning against the side of the house.

He didn't comment further as he made sure the fire was out, then slipped past her to let her and Skye talk — since it was pretty clear that May had things to say. In private.

Skye glanced toward her SO for a moment before she launched into a quick, "It was _cold_ ," before May could say anything.

May crossed her arms as she leaned against the side of the house a little heavier.

"It was. It was honestly cold," Skye insisted. "There was a legitimate need, I swear."

"I'm sure," May replied dryly.

Skye gulped in a little breath and scrunched her nose up. "Shut up," she said before she all but darted past May to gather her things — though at least this wasn't like what had happened with Fury, and she'd actually known she was leaving, so she was sober and packed up.

It didn't take long for Logan to gather up what he was bringing along, either. There wasn't much he really needed beyond a few clothes and a couple of the books he'd been going over again, trying to perfect what he could with his Japanese, though he did grab the books that Heather had given him too. Outside of that, he didn't really need anything, and Heather would come in later to make sure that the place was ready for winter if he was gone for too long anyway.

Logan dropped into a seat in the living room while Skye finished up packing what she'd glossed over earlier, reemerging with her rolling suitcase in hand and refusing to look at either of them. May followed after her with a wordless smirk that she'd clearly been using to tweak Skye the whole time.

They headed out to where May had parked the jet, and May pulled Skye into the cockpit with her to serve as her copilot, leaving Logan not quite alone. As it turned out, there was one more occupant of the jet, seated calmly at the back but giving Logan a raised-eyebrow look.

Logan watched him warily as he took a seat. "Is this what happens when you can't get your call through?" Logan asked. "Because that phone just … magically fell apart."

"Yes, I'm sure you have no idea how that happened," Charles replied. "And yes, this is what happens when the calls don't go through."

"You don't need to do this. I'm _fine._ "

"If that's the case, then it'll only take half an hour of your time for me to confirm that," Charles countered.

"How long is the flight again?" Logan asked with a frown.

"Far longer than that," Charles said, with a little smirk. "But then, this is what happens when the calls don't go through."

Logan let out a grumble as his shoulders dropped. "You pull this crap on everyone? How's America holding up? _Quill?_ "

"You know perfectly well I can't reach Peter in his new home. And I haven't had the opportunity to speak with America yet," Charles admitted. "But you might be proud to hear that she also seems to have problems with her phone. Apparently, she claims her 'team' broke it while they were partying at her house."

"I'd believe that," Logan agreed. "They looked rowdy." When Charles didn't say anything further, Logan narrowed his eyes at him. "Did her cameras pick that up too? Because I'm pretty sure you can see for yourself anytime how things are going."

Charles gave him a tight sort of smile, though it was pretty clear he wasn't surprised that Fury's star pupil had figured out that his house had been wired. It was more impressive that he hadn't disconnected the feeds.

"Actually, she very rarely spends any time in her house. Another thing you two share in common," Charles said. "And as you know, it's more difficult to speak to victors in the first few months when the public interest is still high."

"Yeah, but she's still in the grace period," he muttered. "So what do you want, Charlie?"

"I want to know how you've been adjusting — and assess how all of this, the revolution, the training, the Capitol, has been affecting you. And don't tell me it hasn't; I would know," Charles said with a single eyebrow raised.

"You gotta be kidding me," Logan said as he let out a breath. "Don't have a choice in any of it," he said. "I'm dealing with it as it comes. Keep putting guys in front of me that need to die, and we'll all be fine."

"That's not the only thing you can do — killing people," Charles pointed out with a small frown.

"You might want to check your notes with Fury's," Logan said. "That's what I'm here for."

"Then the other projects — your team, working with the other victors, working with Skye, even…"

"All of them pointing toward killing people or getting the intel to kill people — or am I wrong?"

Charles frowned at that. "I'm sure once we're operating in the open, there will be more opportunities. Anyone with eyes can see how good you were with the children from this year's Games — you do good work teaching defense, preparing them to keep them safe."

"Fat lot of good it did," he muttered to himself before he looked up at Charles. "Sure. Make the big plans for after, and we can talk again then."

"You're not going to put this off so easily, Logan," Charles said.

"Is that a challenge?" Logan asked. "Because something tells me that if it comes down to you and Fury — Fury'll win."

"You might be surprised, then," Charles said, this time with a flash of something just behind his gaze.

Logan watched him for a moment in silence. "Listen," he said. "I'm doing everything they tell me to. _Everything._ "

"I know you are," Charles told him honestly. "And that is what concerns me, believe it or not. As you said, Fury and I don't always see eye to eye." He let out a sigh. "I want to make sure _you_ are alright. Not that you're compliant, or obedient, or any other indication that Fury or Thanos would care about."

Logan was quiet for a long moment, but when it was clear Charles wasn't letting it drop, he let out a grumble. "Not thinkin' about it."

"You should be," Charles told him. "If you want to get through this without any ill long-term effect, you _need_ to consider it."

"You're assumin' I'm going to make it through it," Logan said with a little chuckle. "With the jobs I'm on? Come on, Charlie. Get real."

"I assume that of everyone I work with, regardless of who they are," Charles said. "It makes it simpler if I'm proven right if I _don't_ have to work with long-term issues because my patients didn't plan ahead."

"I don't think you'll need to worry about that here," he said, tipping his head back against the inside of the plane.

"Are you planning on not making it out?" Charles asked him outright.

"If I was, do you think I'm stupid enough to admit it?" Logan replied in a disbelieving tone, one eyebrow raised.

Charles shook his head. "No, but it never hurts to ask. The answer is always enlightening."

"So are we done — or is this where you start singin' kumbaya?"

"I already told you, Logan. You're not going to be able to hang up the phone this time, so you may as well get comfortable," Charles said.

While Logan and Charles were chatting in the back of the plane, May had very quietly reached over to the microphone in the cockpit and flipped it on, though when Skye looked her way, she simply put a finger to her lips.

And Skye thought about pointing out to May that it was a huge violation of his privacy, but she had to admit that she was curious, so she just sat back and listened in silence all the way back to the Triskellion, where Coulson was waiting for the group of them.

"Have a good trip?" he asked Skye as she climbed out of the cockpit. She gave him a dry look in response that had him chuckling to himself before he turned Logan's way. "Your new instructor is waiting for you in the usual place."

"Perfect," he said, on the move without slowing down in the least on his way out — or looking back toward Charles, who looked a lot more irritated than he had been when they boarded in Seven.

"I take it things didn't go well?" Coulson asked Charles.

"I've had more luck elsewhere," Charles admitted. "Though even his non-answers were enlightening. He is … aggressively avoiding even the most benign questions."

"It's your call. I've got Master Po ready and waiting to start with him, but I warned him you have the authority to override and call it off…"

Charles had to really weigh it out before he answered — a clear sign of trouble for Coulson. "I think if someone observes … Logan needs to train to keep his mind moving."

Coulson took in a deep breath and let it all out at once. "I'll handle the observation," he said. "In the meantime, I have a favor to ask of you, though."

"Oh?" Charles turned his way with an interested expression. "Of course, we can discuss things further in private." He tipped his head to indicate that he preferred they moved their talk elsewhere, and Coulson held off until they did reach his office. "What can I do for you, Agent Coulson?"

Coulson let out a long and weary sigh. "I hate to ask, but there's a conversation I really don't want to have with Skye and a few of our kids on the other side. If I'm right about how they take it, they're going to need to talk to you anyway."

"What conversation is that?" Charles asked.

"I just got the report from the labs; Essex called it this morning. They won't be able to bring Scott Summers back — for the same reasons as James Barnes," Coulson said with an obvious frown.

"That is going to be a hard conversation. I can see the prudency of going in myself rather than trying to divert them later," Charles said. "I must ask: Is there a reason you're telling them at all rather than operating as you have in the past and brushing it under the rug as 'not on the list'?"

"Skye has already seen the list because she and Fitzsimmons share workspace — and almost everything else," Coulson admitted. "If we don't come clean and tell Clara and Kamala…" He shook his head, looking honestly disheartened. "I think if Clara thinks we simply left him off the list, we'll lose her entirely. This way we at least have a chance of retaining her. She's made it abundantly clear that she's only there for her old alliance."

"Then whenever you're ready, we can tear off the bandage, as it were," Charles said.

"Thank you, Charles," Coulson said sincerely as the two men headed down the hall. "If it would be easier, I'll have Skye meet you on the other side so you can tell her along with the girls."

"It would be simpler," Charles said. "If those that were hoping to see him are there to support each other … it may well draw them all closer."

Coulson nodded and split off to divert Skye and gather the girls — and to make sure that either he or May was on hand to observe Master Po with Logan while he was at it. Which only left Charles to head down to Tahiti to pull Clara and Kamala aside, though by the time he'd tracked them both down, Skye had already arrived in the Tahiti Wing, looking curious as to why she was there.

He led them all to his office and had Skye close the door behind herself as the three girls took a seat together, clearly vexed as to what he could have to say to the three of them, though Skye was hoping it was along the lines of 'we want you to welcome someone back', considering her company.

He gave them all a kind smile that was obviously one of sympathy. "Ladies," he said, looking to each of them in turn, "I'm afraid I have some bad news for the three of you. As you know, or perhaps as you've been told, not every procedure works as we hope it to. And oftentimes, when it fails, we have no idea what it is that went wrong."

"However, that is not the case with your friend Scott," Charles continued. "He, like Mr. Barnes of Five and young Mr. Kaplan from Twelve, was envenomated with a compound that is absolutely catastrophic to the Tahiti process. I'm terribly sorry, but all of our efforts to revive him have been fruitless."

All three of the girls in the room looked simply stunned. Skye stared at Charles open mouthed and clearly wasn't processing it, while Kamala had both hands clasped firmly over her mouth, silent tears streaming down her face and onto her fingers.

Clara, however, had started out with one hand over her mouth and her arm wrapped around her middle, but she very quickly melted in on herself as her shoulders shuddered with a sob. She folded in half and simply fell apart in tears. The action seemed to startle both of the girls on either side of her and prompted Kamala to try her best to wrap up her friend in a hug, half snuggled into her side.

Skye, on the other hand, still hadn't stopped staring at Charles, and when she did finally move, it was to whisper, "That…that can't be right."

"The labs have been checked at least a half a dozen times over, and everything is headed to Simmons' lab to decipher exactly what went wrong. I'm afraid that the three of them are indeed irretrievable."

When it was clear none of them were taking the news well — or at all — Charles realized that he had to say something or risk the three of them simply moving into his office on a permanent basis. "My door is always open to you if you need to talk — or even get away from the others."

The girls seemed to be working to pull themselves together, and Kamala was already bordering on being permanently attached to Clara. "I… have to get some paperwork done," Skye said suddenly, rising to her feet as if it had just occurred to her. "So I'll just… thanks, Charles, for telling us… I'll just… bye," she said, as she made her way to the door.

Kamala watched the door close before she took a deep, steadying breath and glanced up at Clara, then over at Charles. "I'll take her back to our room," she offered at last.

"Take your time," he replied. "I'll leave you girls alone."

Kamala looked grateful as Charles left the room, and once the door was closed behind him, she turned her attention to Clara and just went back to snuggling her as best she could, all but wrapped around her on one side,

* * *

 _September 15_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Remy was not surprised in the least when he woke up in the medical bay of the Tahiti Wing. He had known about this place for a while now — inside source — but he wasn't necessarily supposed to know about it either, So when he had enough control of his faculties to turn and see that Charles Xavier was there, he grinned crookedly.

"You de welcoming party?" he asked.

Charles frowned a bit and nodded. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am."

"Well den, what's de holdup? Welcomin' people back from de dead ain't s'pposed to be an ev'ryday experience," Remy said easily.

"And it's not supposed to be an experience that you're somehow _prepared_ for."

Remy grinned that much wider. "Lissen, ol' Remy ain't no fool. De Games, dey ain't random, and you know it, Remy know it, let's not pretend it's any different den it is, _non_?"

"Although you are correct thus far," Charles said, "I have yet to find that even the most suspicious tribute would believe that it was possible to simply wake up after being killed."

"Is what it is," Remy said with a light shrug. "Remy wakes up, he believes his own eyes. Unless you sayin' he gone crazy."

"No, I was just wondering if you had a previous tie to someone that might have let it slip …"

"You make a habit of hirin' people dat make slips like dat?" Remy asked with a crooked smile and a laugh. "If dat's de case, you best re-tink your hirin' practices, _non_?" With that, he pushed himself to his feet and walked a small, experimental circle. "You can look if you like, but Remy ain't got no personal ties. Been jus' fine alone in Eight."

Charles chuckled a bit, finding it hard not to be amused with the young man's antics. "I'm sure," he replied with a little smirk. "Then should I tell you what the purpose is behind this program — or would you prefer to draw your own conclusions?"

"I find it better to know den not to know — you jus' tell me den, and let ol' Remy decide if he believe it."

"We're staging a revolution," he said. "To overthrow the Capitol."

"And what you need a t'ief fo'?" Remy asked, his head tipped to one side.

"I can only imagine it would have something to do with your natural talent for finding yourself in places you should not be."

"Like dis here facility for folks who _should not be_ livin', _non_?" Remy looked around the room. "Who you hidin' here? I don't tink you go to all dis trouble jus' for ol' Remy. But you be wise if you had."

Charles had to laugh. "No, it's not just for you. If you'd like to join me, I can take you to the others — who I'm sure would be happy to give you a more thorough tour."

At that, Remy broke into a grin and swept out an arm in a wide bow. "Lead de way."

Charles led him right down to the training room — pointing out a few landmarks along the way so he could at least feel as if he'd given the boy at least a partial tour. He gestured to the doors to the training room as he explained, "Anything you'd like to learn will be made available."

Remy nodded thoughtfully. "You got anyone here dat can handle a bo staff? Mebbe good to stretch."

"I believe that one of our former victors might give you a run for your money," Charles said. "Did you meet Miss Bobbi Morse while you were in the Capitol?"

"You mean de pretty blonde from Two?" Remy grinned outright. "She here too?"

"Not every day, but yes, she helps when she can," Charles said, chuckling again at the boy's reaction.

Remy grinned at that as he wondered a little deeper into the training room — and his grin only got even more absurd when he saw the purple-haired girl across the room fencing with Kurt. "You left out de best part of dis here tour!" he accused Charles with a little laugh before he simply crossed the room in a few long strides to where the two sword users were practicing.

"You gettin' better wit' dat sword, _cher_ ," he called out when he was closer, a crooked grin in place as he leaned against the wall where he'd stopped. "Natural talent, dat's what 'tis."

Betsy did a bit of a double take when she saw him that Kurt kindly did not take advantage of — not that he needed to when the purple-haired girl from Two simply let the katana fall. She turned Remy's way with a growing smile, then went right for him to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug, which he returned enthusiastically, spinning as he did so.

"I had hoped they'd bring you back," she said, laughing.

"Course dey did. You tink dey gon' forget ol' Remy?" he teased her before he simply wrapped her up in a long kiss, and Kurt very quietly excused himself from the room to give them both a little privacy.

And it wasn't that Remy was waiting for Kurt to leave — he was just wrapped up in the kiss until after the door had closed behind him, so it was just a happy coincidence that they were alone when Remy, with a twinkle in his eye, told Betsy, "We gon' need some soap."

* * *

 _September 17_

 _Triskellion_

* * *

Fitz was working hard with a frown on his face, cursing under his breath at the device in his hands before he just tossed his screwdriver up in the air in exasperation. "Why does this have to be such a … a stubborn … _moody_ bit of tech?" he asked no one in particular. "You'd think that something this basic wouldn't be so … irritating."

He paced the lab for a few moments, ran his hand through his hair, and simply picked his tools up again. He let out a deep breath before he started to look at it once again. "You will _work properly,_ " he said to the inch-wide band of metal under his magnifying glass before he let out yet another breath, as if in agreement with the object at hand, before he simply started up again.

He hadn't noticed Coulson watching him have his little disagreement until the man in question was nearly standing next to him. "Is the tech being disobedient again? I thought you guys had that all hammered out."

Fitz looked up at him for a moment with the driest look he could muster. "It's not funny," he said. "This is important — and I need to get it in hand sooner rather than later, even if it doesn't want to _cooperate_."

"Can I ask what it is that is causing you so much trouble?" Coulson asked, but his interest wasn't really in it until Fitz glanced over at Simmons and turned the screwdriver over in his hands a few times before he looked like he'd even considered answering him.

"It's a portable, compressed electro-magnet," Fitz said. "And you'd _think_ that for as basic of a machine that it is that it would just do the job rather than be so insufferably uncooperative." He put the tools down and stood up from his stool. "It's not like it's that big of a deal, you see. It just has to activate when I close the clasp on the thing — and then turn off when the clasp is undone — but it's getting stuck in the on position, and I can't seem to get it to … _behave._ "

"And what is this electro-magnet for, exactly?" Coulson asked, his curiosity piqued now.

"Now that … that is, ah…." Fitz had one hand at the back of his head as he pointed to the object in question. "That is.. I don't know if it'll do what I want it to. Honestly." He crossed his arms and shrugged, trying to suddenly blow it off.

Coulson wasn't fooled in the least. None of the members of his team besides May had _anything_ in the way of poker faces. "And assuming it works…" he prompted.

"Assuming it works, then … it would stop Logan from using his claws," Fitz said quickly. "If he was wearing it."

Coulson frowned for a moment as he looked between Fitz and Simmons. "And what prompted you to start working on something like that?" he asked at last, not sure he was following their line of thinking.

Fitz just glanced up at Simmons as he shifted from foot to foot. "We … we … we _thought_ … that it might be smart…"

"Just in case," Simmons said.

"All things considered."

"It's just a precaution, really.."

"A precaution against _what_?" Coulson prompted, looking between the two of them, honestly concerned. "You've both been through the process notes a dozen times, and Simmons, you've been through all of his test results, and you both told me he's fine. So what, exactly, are you worried about?"

" _Physically_ ," she said. "He's fine physically." Fitz was nodding alongside her but pointedly not looking at either of them.

Coulson frowned as he put it together. "You're worried he may use them on himself," he said softly, looking between the two scientists with as open an expression as they had seen from him.

"He's so distant from everyone," Simmons defended. "And I don't think... "

"He doesn't care if he gets hurt," Fitz said. "Sooner or later, it'll come back to him, especially if he runs out of things to keep him occupied for too long."

"And Fury doesn't seem very concerned as long as he gets the jobs done," Simmons added.

Coulson looked between the two of them and almost had to fight back a proud smile. "You're probably right to be concerned," he admitted before he turned to Fitz. "Is this something that he can have control of as well? So he can feel safer with the claws?"

"As it stands, no — but if I can get it to work right, I can re-design it so he could operate them," Fitz said. "This … was more of a way to stop him altogether. Someone else would have to work the locks."

"See if you can design it both ways — one to stop him and one that he can use," Coulson said with a nod. "I don't want him thinking we're walking around with an off switch for him. He already feels out of control."

Simmons almost cringed. "Can you blame him, sir?"

Coulson just had to shake his head at that. "No. I really can't," he admitted before he simply straightened up and pulled at the edges of his shirt sleeves. "This is a good idea. I'd like to see progress reports on it, and I'll keep other projects off your desk in the meantime unless they're high priority."

"Well, considering that we don't have anything _major_ coming up…" Fitz said as he glanced toward Simmons. "You know. No crazy big spiders, or worker monkeys …"

"We're not getting you a worker monkey," Coulson said, though he couldn't stop the little smirk at Fitz' continued insistence on getting one.

"What about a spider monkey? Would that improve my chances?" FItz replied.

Coulson smirked wider at that and shook his head. "Afraid not," he said, already headed out of the lab — though he didn't get far before he found the last member of his team in a corner of the living room, bundled up in blankets and clearly hiding behind a computer screen when she saw him come in. She was surrounded by a few files and coffee mugs, and he frowned as he looked over the scene.

"Skye?"

"Sorry about the mess," she said, her voice a little higher-pitched than usual and with a clear shake to it. "I'll — I'll get it cleaned up as soon as I'm done here…"

But Coulson crossed the room in a few strides and slipped around the table, clearing away some of the mugs to peek at the folders she had spread over the couch. Official paperwork, family-related, name changes… "What are you doing?" he had to ask.

To his surprise, that seemed to open up a whole floodgate as she simply started to cry, gesturing at the files and at her laptop. "I'm — I'm trying to get… trying to get it set up…" she said, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I'm trying to help Heather and Mac Hudson — you know. From Seven? They want to adopt that group of kids… about half a dozen ... the ones that come regularly to the dinners and — and — and Heather had already started with Scott…" She rubbed harder at her eyes, but it wasn't helping her to calm down in the least. "So I'm trying ... Logan suggested she should have something to hold onto. And the paperwork's different post mortem…. But I'm trying to figure it out, since it won't be valid in January, and… and it's all a mess, and—"

Coulson pulled her over to wrap her up in a hug, letting her cry it out for a moment. "I'll take care of it," he promised at last when she'd done a thorough job crying on his shoulder. "I'll make sure Fury signs it himself."

"I can — I told Logan I'd do it," she said, half muffled by his suit coat. "I want to make sure it gets done…"

"No offense, but it's never going to get done if you're going to cry your way through it," Coulson said. "I can run it past you before it goes to Fury if you want, though."

She nodded at that. "Please," she muttered before she squeezed him in a quick hug in return. "Thanks, Coulson."

"Don't worry about it," he replied.


	10. The Viper's Den

**Chapter 10: The Viper's Den**

 _September 22_

 _District Two_

…...

At this point, Bobbi was pretty used to waking up on Viper's couch in her living room after all of the poisons she'd been through along with everything else. It had been a long week, and she wasn't sure what had done it, but something had tipped her into unconsciousness while they were building up her immunity, and she tried not to think about how much it disturbed her that this living room was _familiar_ to her.

She pushed herself up until she was sitting, stretched, and glanced around the room. She must have woken up before Viper, so she headed to the kitchen to get some tea; she didn't think she could take too much of a stimulant with what she and Viper had been experimenting with, but she did need a pick-me-up that morning.

Viper came down a little later, and Bobbi tipped her head in greeting as the older woman simply got herself ready for the morning. Neither of them spoke for some time until, at last, Bobbi said, "Guess I still need a little more immunity — I can still feel my fingers tingling from last night." It was half an apology for falling unconscious as well as a report — since Viper wanted to know _how_ her venoms and toxins affected people.

"You're doing splendidly," VIper told her with a little smirk, though Bobbi had noticed that the woman hardly ever touched anyone when she wasn't manipulating if she could avoid it.

"All the same, I wish I was moving faster," Bobbi said, allowing a bit of her frustration to show through. "Your couch is nice enough, but I'm getting a little tired of waking up there."

Viper tipped her head to the side for a moment. "Perhaps it's time to send you off for a break," she admitted. "It would be better to work on new toxins with a clean system."

Bobbi had to nod her agreement, though she didn't have to fake the interest in something new. "How new?" she asked curiously.

"It's a compound of several other toxins," she said with a wave. "Something to paralyze and liven up the nerves at once."

"That could be interesting," Bobbi mused. "And a tricky interaction to get right."

"Yes, it's a bit tricky," she agreed. "I don't want the victim to be able to twitch at all."

"But you'll want him to feel it acutely," Bobbi said.

"Of course," she said. "Think of what we could get out of someone with the effort of a catscratch. The torture could go on for hours. Days, even."

"Only if you find someone who doesn't break easy," Bobbi said, leaning against the counter. "Something like that, and a lightweight would tell you everything before you even really had the chance to explore it."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find _someone_ to play with," she said with a wave.

Bobbi had to shrug. "Well, in a few months we'll have plenty of chaos to work with. People go missing in war."

"I know," she replied with a broad smile. "I can't wait to make a few go missing."

"I already have a few ideas from the last time I was in the Capitol," Bobbi said with a gleam in her eyes.

Viper was mid sip, but was already waving her off. "Oh no, any of those political types you _know_ Hill will be handling. Likely herself. No, we need others."

"I don't plan on letting Hill have all the fun," Bobbi argued.

"And I don't plan on drawing her attention," Viper replied. "At least, not at first. I wouldn't mind getting _her_ into my lab."

"She would be much harder to break, I think," Bobbi said as she thought it over. "And would probably swear at you the entire time — you shouldn't paralyze her fully; it could be fun to listen to."

"If I can administer it along the spine, I might be able to keep the victim immobilized from the chest down. So they can talk."

Bobbi seemed to think it over. "It seems like a shame to wait too long into the revolution. Now I'm curious."

"Go. Clean your system out, and when you come back, I'll have a victim picked out to play with. No sense using someone as entertaining as Hill for a test subject." Viper grinned. "After all, the assistant director of SHIELD deserves a method that is _proven_."

"Just reward for putting up with Fury for so long," Bobbi had to laugh.

"Yes. Tell me, my little bird," Viper said. "Did you ever uncover who Fury's favorites are these days? I know he likes to keep them close to the vest."

"I know he just changed the roster on his favorite team," Bobbi told her. "Very close-lipped on that one. Four operatives… one of them has to be a victor based on scheduling alone."

"Oh?" she said, more engaged now.

"You know how he is about his favorites. Blackout uniforms. I couldn't tell you more — _for now_ — but they're shiny and new."

"Well, when you figure it out ... "

"I'll let you know," Bobbi said with a little nod. "I have my suspicions on one of them, but I don't like trading on suspicions."

"Oh, but your suspicions are usually so good," Viper said. "Who do you suspect?"

Bobbi smiled crookedly. "You won't believe me."

"Oh, try me," Viper purred.

She set her tea down and leaned forward. "Creed."

"Victor Creed." Viper stared back at her. "One of _Fury's favorites_?" She set back in her chair with a little dismissive huff. "Well that's no fun at all."

"I told you it was hard to believe," Bobbi said.

"No, I think I can believe it," Viper said, though she looked a bit put out. "I just don't like it."

"No one does. No one will. Why do you think he's keeping it so secret?" Bobbi said, waving her hand.

"Well that's an entirely different direction than I thought he'd be taking," Viper said, her eyes narrowed as she looked out of her window. "That could actually be a problem."

"As opposed to if he was looking at me — or Peter Quill — or any of those newer ones, really. Rhodey would be useless at black ops," Bobbi said dismissively.

"And the new girl is about as sneaky as an elephant in a china shop," Viper said as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"I did like watching her roast Tivan, though. You have to give her that," Bobbi laughed.

"Yes, well, she should have made nice with him," Viper said dismissively.

" _Tivan_?" Bobbi asked incredulously.

Viper smiled her way cryptically. "Yes, Tivan."

"No offense, Viper, I'm sure you have your reasons, but I'm going to have to disagree."

"Well, the simple fact that the new victor is a girl — and one with a lovely set of legs at that — all but cemented his position for another year or two. A boy would have had the crowds screaming for Trish to come in all decked out in skimpy skirts and tight tops. But now? No need."

"You're not her type," Bobbi said with a little smirk.

"Since when has that ever mattered in the Capitol?" Viper had to laugh.

"Since never — but still," Bobbi said, still smirking. "Two more years of Tivan… just the very idea makes me glad we're planning to blow the Capitol out of the sky."

"You really think that there won't be another Games? Even if the Royals are out — someone will step up."

"I think it depends on who comes out on top," Bobbi said. "Fury the Gamemaker…" Bobbi waved and let the sentence hang.

"Oh, I believe someone more interesting will come out on top. Fury's just … not the one to lead, ultimately."

Bobbi nodded. "It's so nice of him to do so much of the set up in the meantime."

"It is," Viper agreed before she seemed to straighten into a suddenly more businesslike expression. "Be sure to pick out your toys before the party starts. We'll snatch up whoever you want to play with that Fury can't find the full use of."

"I'll have to think it over," Bobbi said, and she was being completely honest. "There are so many options."

Viper watched Bobbi for a long time, and it was obvious that she had something more on her mind than just the tantalizing prospect of new "test subjects." Bobbi let her keep her silence, though, until she was ready to break it.

"Something I've been waiting to hear from you, but you have yet to breathe a word … the Tahiti program," Viper said at last. "Who is involved there?"

Bobbi allowed her shock to show honestly. "How did you even… it took me ages to get Fury to trust me enough to tell me."

"Oh, I didn't hear it from Fury," she said with a laugh. "I have other contacts. Contacts that tell me you are active in the program."

"Well, now I'm just going to have to have a word with those contacts. Breaking my cover, even to you ... that's just…" Bobbi shook her head.

"Why wouldn't you tell me something of that magnitude?" Viper asked, her chin resting in the palm of her hand. "That's precisely the kind of thing that those over my head would love to know."

Bobbi sighed. "It took me so long to get Fury to trust me ... it just hasn't been the right time to break that trust," she said carefully. "When it is, I want to have more than a simple training position."

"I see. Well, perhaps you could tell me who else is training with them?"

Bobbi watched Viper for a moment, wondering just how much Viper knew. She decided to err on the side of giving information, if nothing else so that she could know exactly what Viper did and didn't know in the first place. "There's only one other victor, Rhodey," she said. "Coulson has been pulling in others from the Capitol, like Duquesne, and some from SHIELD for specialty classes."

"What about the medical staff?" she asked. "Who's new there?"

"That hasn't changed much, as far as I know," Bobbi said. "I do know that this year Hank McCoy started doing much more there."

"Oh, did he now?" she asked, brightening up considerably. "That is _interesting_."

"The medical staff has been rather… divided since last year."

"That's how I understood it," Viper said. "Troublemakers …"

"Teenagers," Bobbi said with a shrug. "It would have blown over if Coulson hadn't gotten involved."

"I'm sure that they could have been dealt with without dragging Coulson in," Viper said with a wave. "I don't understand why they felt a change was necessary at all"

"Coulson's not as strict as Hill is," Bobbi said with a shrug.

"The man is a pushover."

"He has a personal beef with the head doctor. Nathaniel Essex," Bobbi said.

"Yes, Nathan has been very patient thus far," she agreed. "I'm surprised that you didn't find your way into his good graces."

Bobbi let out a sigh. "He's rather unforgiving — and when I'm trying to play nice with Coulson, I don't think he exactly approves of my methods." She paused, weighing out her next words. "Most of my students are the 'troublemakers'. Coulson has a weakness for the youngest, and I've only been able to get as far as I have by pretending to _care_ about their little relationships. About _them_ , even."

Viper let out a little sigh. "True enough I suppose," she said with a wave. "But I'll expect a bit more openness in the future."

"Well, now that I know you're in on the secret, that won't be as much of an issue," Bobbi assured her. "It's harder for Fury to trace a leak back to me if I didn't start it — and then I get to stay in his good graces a little longer."

"Yes, focus on how the teams break down, dear. I need to know which victors plan to fight for SHIELD — and who is more open to other options."

"I'll make sure to talk to the new girl during the tour," Bobbi said. "She didn't seem fond of SHIELD."

"Yes, I think we could sway Logan too. I have the older ones figured out, of course," she said. "It's the younger three …"

"You won't sway Rhodes," Bobbi said, shaking her head. "He's a company man, and the company he's chosen to pledge allegiance to is SHIELD."

"Then we still have two to play with," she replied.

"Possibly three, depending on how Quill comes out of that marriage," Bobbi pointed out.

"By the time we move, he'll go to whoever rescues him."

"If he hasn't been twisted to Capitol loyalty by then," Bobbi said. "You know that's what they're after, and he's the right victor to try it on."

"Please," she laughed. "I don't care what that green witch does to him — he won't be a loyalist unless they take his mind from him."

"That's the question of the day, isn't it," Bobbi said, one eyebrow raised.

"Well I can't find anything that shows the Capitol having those capabilities. They'd like to, of course," she said shaking her head. "But it's already been perfected."

"Last I talked to Quill, Ronan was bragging about coming close."

"He's coming close to making a deal with someone who knows how," Viper said with a laugh. "But she has no plans on teaching him anything."

Bobbi smirked the slightest bit. "I guess you'd know."

"I find that kind of information is invaluable."

"All information is valuable if you know what to do with it," Bobbi said with a light shrug before she pushed off the counter. "I'll see you in a week. Sounds like I need to reintroduce myself to Dr. Essex."

"Yes, do that," she said. "But let's make it two weeks."

"Works for me. Though you know Fury will ask me if you're getting suspicious and putting distance with a gap like that."

"I have my own things to get done. Tell him whatever you want — but know that if I was truly suspicious, he would not be getting you back."

"Trust me, I know," Bobbi said, holding up her own still slightly trembling hand from last night's poison. "And you should know if I thought things had gotten to that point, you'd never see me again."

Viper's lips twitched up into a smile for only a moment. "Bring someone expendable with you if you want to make Fury think I need to be sated."

"It might be a political type; those are easy to catch — and easy to make disappear from SHIELD's records."

"It's a shame we didn't get Selene," she said with a dramatic sigh. "It would have gone on so much longer away from Ronan."

"He's a bungler. When we do finally move, I'll bring him to you."

"Just impatient," she purred. "He enjoys the kill."

"His sister's better at waiting," Bobbi said. "If Thanos recognized it…"

"Not Nebula," Viper corrected. "She is much quicker than the other two."

"No, _Gamora_ is more patient," Bobbi agreed. "Look at the long game with Quill."

"Gamora knows the value of information. Ronan mistakes tortured 'confessions' with information rather than simple fun. But Nebula …." She smiled. "I do like her."

"Nebula takes the whole thing as a game. If she had any patience, the dungeons at the palace would be a different place."

"If she had any patience, she'd be running things," Viper said before she stood up. "But you should go. I have a guest later, and I'd like to be ready for her."

"Give her my regards," Bobbi said on the way out the door.

"I don't believe you've met, but I'll pass the message on."

Bobbi smirked and made her way out, ambling across the Victor's Village on the way back to her house before she simply pressed the comm at her desk, a button that meant she was ready to be picked up so she could report in.

* * *

It was only a few hours later that Bobbi found herself in Fury's office, with the others she had requested be part of the briefing, since they had been mentioned during her conversation with Viper: Rhodes, Hill, and Hank McCoy. If they were on Viper's radar, they needed to know. She would warn Logan later — and America at the tour.

She waited until the door was closed behind Hank before she took a deep breath. "Tahiti has been compromised," she said simply, watching each of them for a moment.

The overall reaction in the room was of concern and seriousness. "How badly?" Fury asked, already considering exit strategies and pushing back the revolution if necessary.

"Viper knows what it is, and who is involved," Bobbi said frankly. "She has an inside source — Dr. Essex. He's been feeding her information, I don't know how long."

"Oh my stars," Henry said as he pushed his half moon glasses up the bridge of his nose. "That simply won't do."

"We can't move on him now," Bobbi said quickly. "Not when Viper is already suspicious of me for not telling her about Tahiti. You move — and I'm dead."

"Then you'll simply have to let me know when the time is right to bash that lout about the head and shoulders," Henry said seriously.

"Give it a few weeks," Bobbi said. "But keep an eye on him when he's not working in the labs, see if you can catch him on your _own_ with something incriminating. I wouldn't be on the hook if you were to catch him sending messages — it would be his own fault."

"Noted," Henry replied.

"She knows who the trainers are — at least the victors and a few of the regulars like Duquesne — and she knows that Coulson is more or less running things, though she's not as concerned with him as she is with you, Hill." Bobbi looked almost apologetic. "She seems to have something special in mind for you."

"What else?" Hill asked, brushing past that particular threat.

"I'm not sure what she knows about the kids themselves, but she mentioned that the process, the program itself, interested the people higher up than she is. She still hasn't mentioned names, but she seems to think they'll end up running things. I know at least one of them is an expert in mind control; she laughed away the suggestion that the royals were anywhere close to it." She paused. "Apparently, Ronan came to _them_ for advice in that regard."

"Well at least that sounds positive," Fury said. "Are they giving them that information?"

"Not at all. Viper doesn't like him. Thinks he's too impatient."

"Entirely true — but not usually something that is used to describe him," Fury said, frowning deeper.

"She likes Nebula and admires Gamora's patience. But not one of them passes the sniff test because of some flaw or another. Impatience. Not enough nerve. Or just insanity in Thanos' case — take your pick. It's the only reason they haven't allied with the Capitol instead of us… temporarily."

"Keep your ears open," Fury said. "You're getting closer to whoever is running Hydra. Keep doing what you're doing." He paused and let out a sigh. "Is that all you have for me today, or do you have more good news you'd like to share?"

"Viper's meeting with someone new today," Bobbi said. "She said I hadn't met her, so it's an unknown player."

"New to you, not necessarily new to her," Hill pointed out.

"True, but since she's been introducing me to a few people lately, or reintroducing in Seraph's case… it's interesting." Bobbi let out all her breath. "She's going to be working for the next two weeks, and then I'll go back. Might be better if you come for Essex while I'm not there so I don't get questions about why I didn't try to help him, but if you do catch him out early…" She looked toward Hank. "Knock me out of the game. At least a mild concussion, if you would. She has to believe it." She then looked to Fury. "And if you could suspend me from Tahiti and put me under investigation for ties to Essex, that would be great too. Just for a few weeks."

"Consider it done," Fury said — but he looked to Henry, who paused but eventually nodded his agreement as well.

* * *

 _September 23_

 _District Twelve_

* * *

It was weird having a birthday that people actually cared about mentioning.

Before America had become a victor, birthdays had passed in the woods or passed out asleep after a hard hunt. They had just been another year mark, and before Billy decided to volunteer his stupid self, they had also been a countdown to the end of the Games — to when no one would even notice if she disappeared into the trees.

Now, people knew who she was, and they seemed to think that meant they couldn't let the day pass without comment.

The worst part was that _Eli_ had warned her this would happen. And he was being insufferable in that know-it-all way of his when he was right that made her want to punch him in the face. He'd said that she couldn't disappear like she usually did because people would look for her — and he was _right_.

She hated that so much.

The mayor had stopped by to say a quick happy birthday — and had looked down his nose at the fact that America had so many boys living with her. Blackagar had been much better, though. He and Medusa stopped by with a simple present: dinner for the whole group of them. And in Blackagar's neat script — a card wishing her a happy birthday along with a loopy sort of script that must have been his wife's reminding her that they were just down the road if she needed anything.

A few victors had called to say happy birthday, to ask how she was doing, but she and Tommy had a plan by that point that he would run into the room during any one of those calls, grab her arm, and shout, "America, you're missing the fun!" so that anyone on the other end would have no choice but to believe she was doing birthday stuff and would _leave her alone._

She didn't understand why everyone was so interested in her business since winning the Games. She had _much_ more important things to worry about. Things like keeping Tommy distracted and busy with stupid errands like being her excuse to get off the phone so he wouldn't totally fall apart. Things like making sure Teddy remembered to _eat_ , because he still hadn't recovered from losing Billy, and there were days, the worst days, when the best they could do for him was to sit with him and make sure he _lived_ through the day.

That was where she honestly wanted to spend her birthday. So when she hung up the phone with an overly interested Charles Xavier, she went to Teddy's room.

She didn't say anything as she sat down beside her friend, who simply scooted over to make room for her. Lately, that was the way things went with the two of them. Silence spoke for their grief more than anything else.

Finally, Teddy took a deep breath and turned toward America, even managing a small smile her way. "Happy birthday, America," he said.

America nodded at that. "Thanks, Teddy."


	11. Tahiti Uprising

**Chapter 11: Tahiti Uprising**

* * *

 _September 26_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

" _Elizabeth Braddock_!" A familiar voice shouted out that had Betsy jump in place and away from Remy — who she had been tangled up with only moments before. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?! I know I said over my dead body — but for _God's_ sakes!"

Of all the ways that Brian Braddock could have announced his arrival to the Tahiti program, that had to be the most shocking entrance that any of the members had seen. Particularly since every single member of the program had come to a full stop to watch the show as he stalked across the training room to where Betsy was trying to distance herself slightly from her Cajun boyfriend, though that was difficult to do when Remy seemed to think the whole thing was hilarious and had responded to being shouted at by Brian by tightening his hold around Betsy's waist.

" _Remy_ ," she said trying to push away a bit. "My brother …"

"Well it sho' hard to tell he related to you when he got himself all twisted up in knots like dat," Remy said with a totally unconcerned expression on his face.

About that time, Brian finally got to the two of them looking thunderous. "Who the _hell_ is this?"

"Brian ... this is Remy LeBeau," Betsy said, trying to regain her poise. She had one hand still half-heartedly trying to push Remy's off her waist, and the other brushed her hair out of her face as she straightened up. "We allied together."

"Yeah, I saw the tapes before I came here," Brian said with a glare Remy's way.

"Nice to make yo' acquaintance," Remy said with a grin and a wide, sweeping bow when he finally stepped away from Betsy.

Brian drew back, clearly ready to take Remy's head off, when Kurt stepped in and grabbed his arm. "Hitting him won't stop them in the least," Kurt reasoned. "Believe it or not — it goes both ways."

"Might make 'im feel jest a lil' bit better," Remy said with a small grin. "He be _boudin'_ all day 'bout it otherwise."

"And she'd only kiss him more," Kurt said to Brian, though he was looking at Remy. "Believe me. Don't rise to his bait."

Brian seemed to think it over — and the smug little smirk on Remy's face sealed it. He lowered his fist and instead pointed a finger in his face. "I'll wait until you hurt her — then you'd better hope they can revive you twice."

"You wound me, _mon ami_ ," Remy said with laughter in his eyes.

"No, I'll _kill you_ ," Brian promised.

Remy looked like he might say something else, so Kurt gave him a hard glare and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "I'm sure Betsy can take care of herself," he said pointedly, looking at both boys with a small glare.

Betsy looked between them and shook her head before she kissed Remy on the cheek. "I'll see you later. I need to spend a moment with my brother."

"Take all de time in de world — we got plenty of it, _cher_ ," Remy said with a smile and a nod.

She grinned his way and pulled Brian off where the two of them could chat in peace.

* * *

 _September 30_

 _Triskelion_

* * *

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me; I know you have other things on your plate right now," Coulson said as Charles entered his office and May closed the door behind him.

"I believe we're a bit overdue, honestly," Charles said, looking almost weary.

"Yes, well, we've had other things come up. Some of Miss Morse's intel, you know. And Quill sent us a few updated messages from the Capitol; he's still hanging in there," Coulson said with a sigh.

"That's encouraging, at least," Charles replied. "I'll admit to being concerned on his behalf more often than not."

"The fact that he's still transmitting to us at all at least tells me he's still thinking on his own, but I'll admit that I'll sleep better when we get him out," Coulson said before he reshuffled a few files. He took in a deep breath and let it out. "And I'll probably sleep better when we figure out what to do with this one," he said, tapping the file he had on Logan. "I've sat in on a few of his sessions with Po. He's been… throwing himself at the work."

"He seems to do that with everything," Charles said. "Did you notice how quickly he picked up Japanese? Your surveillance shows he reads everything he gets his hands on too." He leaned forward. "What would you suggest we do with him? Because you know my suggestion."

"All he's doing right now is training, working out, and running missions," May said, leaning forward to address the other two in the room, which honestly surprised Coulson, since she was usually a quiet observer. "He's working himself to exhaustion just to sleep."

"Then we need to engage him in something else. Make him think," Charles said.

"You said yourself he's been reading," Coulson said thoughtfully. "Maybe a different type of coursework…."

"He's a good _teacher_ ," May cut in. "You saw how he was with the kids from the Games. And Skye likes learning from him," she added, though this time with an unmistakable smirk.

"We can't send him to the Tahiti kids," Coulson said. "They already have plenty of trainers, and God only knows what would happen to his focus if he found out right now."

"Then let him train your other team," May said with an easy shrug. "You've seen the results he's had with Skye. Fitzsimmons aren't worth _anything_ in a fight right now — he could help them too."

"Do you think he has the patience to teach those two soft, squishy little lab monkeys to _fight_?"

She smirked. "He taught a bunch of thirteen-to-sixteen-year-olds just a few months ago. Kamala tossed him over her shoulder, and she's been teaching everyone in Tahiti ever since. Imagine what he could do with more than three days."

Coulson had to admit the idea was promising. "It would mean that all the work that Ogun put into him might come back to help more of our agents. Ogun has already said he'll never work for SHIELD again."

"And you know he does better if he feels like he's helping. This killing and constant training isn't good for him," May said pointedly, which had Coulson raising an eyebrow, since she simply wasn't usually this talkative.

"We really shouldn't have Fury setting his schedule on his own," Charles agreed. "If it keeps up, he'll be completely isolated and doing nothing but running missions." He paused and turned to May. "Has he spoken to anyone outside of trainers or teammates on missions since he's returned here?"

"He talks to Skye," May said with a small smirk. "She got him a tablet. Unauthorized."

"A tablet?" Charles asked, turning her way fully. "So they message — but they don't _talk._ "

"No," she had to admit. "Skye and Logan have different schedules — different focuses entirely, really. Our team has been chasing a Hydra lead, and he's been working privately with Hill and Fury." She paused. "Which is part of why I think he should be training her."

"In case she gets into trouble with Hydra," Charles said, nodding.

"We still don't know if she killed Grant Ward. But more than likely, she didn't, or we'd have found his body — or some trace of it, at least. He's only going to be more determined to get to her now," Coulson admitted.

"Then, I agree," Charles said. "Let him take some time to teach the others. He may even rest better."

"I'll get it set it up," Coulson said with a little nod. "The sooner the better. It's not like we have much time left if we're going to train the team up before the revolution."

Charles turned to May with a smile. "I'm sure you'll be watching over them for their lessons."

"If I have the time," May said with a crooked smile. "I may leave them unattended for long stretches. I'm busy."

"I somehow don't believe that," Charles laughed. "At least at first."

She had to smirk his way at that. "We'll have to see," she conceded.

* * *

 _October 5_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Down in the Tahiti Wing itself, tensions were starting to boil over. Hank McCoy had taken Bobbi's advice to heart and looked into Essex's projects — and what he found had him more than ready to rend the man's arms from his body.

"I don't know why you are so insistent on giving up so quickly," Henry said as he once again pushed Essex back. "If the boy is a _loss_ , what difference does it make to you if I simply attempt to find a way to deal with the extensive problems that he sustained?"

McCoy had staked a claim over Billy's body, and he had found himself entirely determined to find a solution. 'Fresh eyes' he'd said, would prevail — and he might have mentioned his opinion that Essex was simply too invested in his rich history with the program to be objective enough to find something innovative to _save_ the boy. "The worst that might happen is that I am simply _wrong_ ," Henry said. "Which I am sure I am _not_." It was obviously his way of trying to push Essex's buttons, since nothing so far had worked, and Henry had truly _pushed_ his way into the details of reviving the last of the tributes.

In fact, he was prepared to see his first case to the final stage, set to open his eyes any day, and Essex was hovering over his every move.

"You _should_ be focusing on the Summers boy," Essex said. "Before we lose _both_ brothers. Anything else right now is a waste of time and resources."

" _Balderdash_ ," Henry grumbled at the back of his throat. "Any advancement is earth-shattering if done properly."

"Your focus is in the wrong place," Essex sneered.

"Dr. Essex," Henry said in as calm of a tone as he was able. "While I thank you deeply for the extensive work you've accomplished in this groundbreaking field, the time has come for further innovations! New advancements, altered approaches to chemical contamination, and dare I say it, a higher level of intellect. That, my dear _colleague,_ is where I come in. You've given me an amazing platform from which to launch. Now kindly remove yourself from my path of innovation."

"Innovations," Essex sneered. "With only one boy left to revive before we're through with these Games. What, exactly, are you innovating for? We don't have the materials for anything further."

At that Henry smiled and turned his way to rest a gloved hand on each of Essex's shoulders. "You are losing the true spirit of science itself," he said with a grin.

Essex shrugged him off with an open glare. "I know when to satisfy my curiosity, and it is not at the expense of an existing patient."

"Yes, and you've had years to do exactly that," Henry said before the smile slipped and his eyes flashed. "My existing patient is perfectly well, progressing beautifully, and I must ask you—" He took a step closer and dropped the smile entirely. "—why would you hold the Kaplan boy if you didn't intend to work on him?"

Essex glared at Henry. "Curiosity," he said. "To be satisfied after the Summers boy awakens — since the other two boys with similar extensive damage have already been sent home to be buried."

"Curiosity. _Ah_ , And yet you had a chance to sate that curiosity with the others and did not," Henry said. "I'm afraid that this time, I'll be staking my claim on Kaplan. You let your curiosity slide for two."

"I'm the senior doctor on staff," Essex said, drawing himself up to glare at Henry. "I won't grant that request, and you know it."

Henry barked out a laugh. "Why do you think I was introduced to this program?"

"You're a shoddy replacement at best!" Essex snapped. "There's no substitute for my extensive work here."

"No?" Henry challenged. "Then shall I explain how it is that your samples collected from Kaplan show such incredible cellular damage, but mine do not?" He took another step closer. "You said yourself my collection and slide preparation was impeccable. Second to none."

"There must be a flaw in your method somewhere. Dr. Temple and Dr. Simmons both have poured over the samples with the same results — why should yours be any different?" he sneered.

"They poured over samples that _you_ procured, _Doctor Essex_ ," Henry pointed out as he folded his glasses and put them into his front pocket. "The samples they collected themselves showed the same results that mine do. So, clearly, the problem does not lie with _us_ — or with Kaplan."

"What samples?" Essex demanded, clearly furious that any research had taken place without his knowledge or permission.

"Blood, mostly, though there was some muscle tissue as well. Your access has now been revoked. Effective immediately,," Henry said calmly. "That includes the bodies, the samples, the research, and the machinery. You'll need to turn in your documents and accreditations to Charles on your way out."

Essex looked thunderous for a long moment, stunned into silence before, finally, he sneered Henry's way. "You'll come begging for my expertise in no time," he said as he turned on his heel to leave.

Henry shadowed him every step of the way, though, not even trying to hide it. The spectacle had started to draw a crowd from more than the medical staff, and while most of those present weren't surprised to see Essex being run out, Bobbi did come to his defense.

"We're not done — you said yourself there's still a few revivals," she argued.

"And they'll be perfectly fine without the good doctor's overwatch," Henry said, his eyes flashing and his glare positively locked onto the tall, pale doctor.

"He practically _invented_ the Tahiti process," Bobbi argued, still in step with the two of them.

"Yet it is still time for a new set of eyes," Henry replied, still perfectly calm-sounding.

Essex sneered Henry's way even as he addressed Bobbi with a perfectly condescending-sounding, "Now, Miss Morse, we mustn't—"

"Dr. Essex," Charles cut across. "Is there a problem that I should be made aware of?"

Essex stopped to glare down at Charles. "No problem from where you are sitting, Xavier. Congratulations — it seems you've found a way to wheedle your way into my position after all," he all but snarled at him.

"I'd thank you to adjust your tone," Charles said with fire in his voice. "Before things get out of hand."

"More than they already are?" Essex snapped back, gesturing with one hand to Henry and Bobbi as well as the gathering crowd of onlookers. "You and your cronies have already made a spectacle of my life's work for a little _power play_."

"There is no power play in effect," Charles argued, still trying to keep the confrontation from exploding. "Unless it's from your falsification of information."

"You and McCoy are _obsessed_ with this Kaplan child," Essex sneered.

"It's not just Kaplan," Charles said, putting aside the book he had in his hand and moving closer to Essex. "By all accounts, we have used far more materials than what we've seen good use for. Vibranium does not simply should have been enough in store to revive another six or seven tributes, yet we only appear to have stock for one."

"And where do you suspect I've hidden something like that? Volatile, radioactive — you have quite the imagination."

"I wouldn't presume to know, nor am I accusing you of anything but ignoring simple bookkeeping in that matter. However … it still doesn't explain why you falsified the test results on the boy's bloodwork. It makes one wonder if you weren't trying to take one for your _own_ experimentation."

Essex glared at him and then around at the group at large as more people gathered in the hall, many of whom were patients of his. He didn't like the tone that was set around him. And he didn't appreciate Xavier usurping his position, so he simply made a move to shove Charles out of his way — clearly to cut a path down to his more secured lab space.

"Do _not_ try to walk away from me," Charles bellowed — far more powerfully than anyone in attendance had heard before.

Essex simply laughed at that. "We're done here," he said, already walking past.

But that seemed to be more than Charles could allow. As Charles simply lost his temper entirely, he stood up and took a few long strides to grab Essex by the shoulder and pull him around to flatten him with a single punch that echoed the hall.

Naturally, Charles found himself leaning against the nearest wall once Essex was on the ground, but he was so busy glaring at the unconscious doctor that he didn't quite realize what he'd done right away.

Not, anyway, until there was a very low whistle from where the kids were gathered as Clint shook his head with a drawn out "Damn."

Charles looked toward the group of kids, realized quickly the makeup of the crowd, and let out a sigh. "Children, I apologize."

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked at the same time Sin called out, "No, do it again."

"I'm fine, Mr. Wagner," Charles said as he started toward Henry — clearly a bit wobbly — though several different Tahiti kids started toward him the moment he moved with their hands outstretched as if they were worried he might fall.

When he got back to Henry, who was smiling broadly at him, Charles sat down in his chair heavily and let out a breath. "Henry, would you please see Dr. Essex out before he can begin poking around where he's no longer welcome?"

"Certainly, Charles," Henry said, still smiling widely.

As Henry grabbed Essex by the back of his pants and the nape of his neck, Charles turned to the Tahiti kids gathered. "I'm sure you have questions."

"No kidding," Peter said in a quiet sort of voice, his eyes wide. "Like… a _lot_ of them."

Charles smiled almost sheepishly his way and turned to Kate and Cassie, who were standing together and wide-eyed still. "Your friend Billy is being worked on by Dr. McCoy. There is still no guarantee, though I do believe his chances are much higher with Essex out of the picture."

"You think that creepy doctor was trying to keep Billy?" Kate asked softly, though her hands were clenched in fists at her sides.

"There were some questions raised about some of the samples for two of the other tributes. It's too late for them; their bodies were already sent home."

"Why would he do that?" Cassie asked. "Why... "

Charles held up both hands. "As I was saying, Dr. McCoy will be overseeing Billy along with Clare and Celia. I fully expect him to wake up soon."

"Okay. Next question?" Miles said, cutting in with his hand in the air and elbowing his way between a few closer teenagers. "I'm kind of new, so I might be totally off-base, but did anyone else know you could, um, do that?" he asked, gesturing at Charles' chair.

Charles drew in a deep breath. "The list was short. Mr. Banner figured it out his first day here," Charles admitted — giving credit where it was due. "In short: the same process that brought you back to life healed my injuries as well. Unfortunately, I do need to maintain the image that the Capitol knows best."

"But why not tell us?" Steve asked with a frown. "Who would we tell?"

Bobbi raised her hand and took a step forward toward the kids. "I have known Charles for years, and I didn't know," she said, looking at the gathered crowd. "You guys should know by now: the less people that are in on a secret, the better-protected that secret is. Even if you don't think you have access to tell anyone."

"And it would have been _far_ less dramatic if we all knew he could do that," Wade said as if it was the most obvious explanation.

"I was planning to tell you _all_ after the revolution," Charles said. "It's just easier for me to maintain when I don't have to wonder who knows it."

"We won't tell anyone," Kamala swore, her eyes wide and her hand over her heart.

Charles gave her a kind smile. "I know," he replied. "And I do apologize for not telling you all sooner."

"It was really cool, though," Miles had to admit.

"Bet he wasn't expecting those guns," Wade said, making a muscle with one arm with a cheeky grin. "Amiright?"

"That's one killer right hook, Charlie," Clint agreed with a crooked sort of smirk.

"You really should start walking more, though," Kurt said, already moving from the shock of the revelation to concern for Charles.

"We can help," Kate offered. "We all know a thing or two about getting reacquainted with your muscles."

"Swimming would be a great start," Cassie said.

"You can use my dance studio," Natasha said softly, her gaze never leaving Charles' face. "You can hold onto the bar."

"Those are all very generous offers," Charles said. "And I think, though I have fought against just that for years — I will start building up what I can. No sense to be a dead weight when we finally make a move."

"Don't worry," Cassie assured him with a sweet smile. "Nobody here thinks any less of you."

"More, really," Natasha said, still watching him, though now with nearly a smirk tugging at her expression. "How long have you been hiding this?"

"Eight years," Charles answered. "And before Mr. Banner figured it out, there were less than a handful of people that knew."

"I bet I know at least one," Kate said with a smirk.

Charles looked her way with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, I'm certain you do."

"So are you going to stop using the chair after the revolution?" Clint asked.

"Likely not for any public appearances at first — but when the Tahiti program is made public knowledge, I see no reason not to."

"So now the big question is ... how tall are you?" Clint asked, holding up both hands to frame Charles. "Looked to me about six feet when you hit Essex, but I didn't get a good look-see."

"Six feet even," Charles replied, laughing to himself at Clint's antics.

"Nailed it," Clint said, and Natasha reached over to pinch his arm until he yelped.

"We'll all have to get used to looking _up_ to you," Peter said. "Or… a lot of us will."

"Not that we didn't already — just metaphorically," Kate said with a sideways grin.

"Enough of that now," Charles said, clearly embarrassed by the attention. "Don't you have anywhere to be outside of waiting for fights to happen in the halls?"

The kids all glanced at each other, half reluctant to leave the impromptu gathering when it had produced such a shocking revelation — until Miles pointed out, "Does this mean the vampire-decorated office is vacant now?"

"Not exactly," Charles said. "It's now Dr. McCoy's."

"Ooh… then… we should get rid of… some stuff," Peter said, glancing at Henry. "Stuff that might be… Halloween-related." He held up both hands and looked serious. " _Don't_ move in yet."

Henry smiled after Peter's retreating back. "I'm sure the place will need fumigation before I can occupy it."

"And an office-warming something or other," Wade mused as the kids were already starting to disperse with the change in plans.

"Halloween inspired," Cassie said. "For ease."

"Oh, absolutely," Wade said, grinning over at her before he affectionately ruffled her hair and then pulled her under his arm to regale her with tales of the great vampire's demise.


	12. Teaching Moments

**Chapter 12: Teaching Moments**

* * *

 _October 8_

 _Gym in the Triskelion_

* * *

Fitz could hardly stay calm as he, Simmons, and Skye met up in the gym for their new, required training course. Coulson had tried to explain that he wanted his team to be safe, to be well-trained ahead of the revolution, but all Fitz had heard was that he was going to get the chance to learn some sweet moves, and after that… there was really no chance that he _wasn't_ going to be overly excited about the whole idea.

"It's a little beyond the basic hand-to-hand you were taught at the academy," Coulson tried to tell them on the way down to the gym.

"Well, yeah, of course — why else would we be _here_?" Fitz said brightly, still bouncing with each step, his grin firmly affixed. "And in _Fury's_ gym. _Fury's gym_!" He was completely delighted. "When do we _start_?"

"As soon as your new instructor gets here," Coulson said with a smirk. "In the meantime — don't touch anything."

Simmons glanced around the room at that, looking a little nervous. "Is ... nothing in here looks that dangerous..."

"It's not. I just don't know what you're going to be doing, so it's best if you don't wander."

The three members of his team shared looks and nodded at that, though Skye was already looking around the room like she was trying to decide what she wanted to touch just to screw with Coulson — and Fury. She already had a defense teacher she liked, so she wasn't exactly excited about new arrangements anyway.

Skye was just making a face at one of the speedbags with her arms crossed over her chest when Master Po and Logan came in, though it was clear that Logan at least wasn't expecting to see the three of them in the private gym. But he didn't say a word about it — at least not until Po stepped forward and told the three excited team members that Logan would be working with them.

At first, he didn't realize what Po was saying, and for an instant, he thought this was part of Fury's torture test, but when it was clear that Po was waiting for _him_ to do something…. "Wait, what?" Logan said as he looked toward the little group in clear confusion.

"You'll be teaching them," Po replied with a warm smile. "They need help, and you can help them. So … _Go. Help them."_

Logan looked toward Coulson, but it was pretty clear that Ogun had done a real number on him when he didn't exactly argue it. "Right," Logan said, mostly to the floor. "What do you want 'em to learn?"

Po had been clear when he'd agreed to give Logan time to work with the others that there shouldn't be too many restrictions — so that _he_ could see what the boy thought those with less skill needed to learn. And to watch for himself how the process worked with Logan teaching. Po had heard stories, of course, but he wanted to see it in practice.

Po and Coulson shared a look, and Coulson cleared his throat. "Whatever you think they might need. They're going up against Hydra, and as much as it bugs me to admit it, your work with Skye has helped her a lot more than what she's learned with SHIELD. Maybe work with them on some of whatever you showed her, but honestly, Logan, it's your class — your call."

Logan watched the two men and frowned as he thought it over. Coulson was doing his usual unreadable routine again, and Po more or less achieved the same thing by smiling pleasantly. Logan took a few steps toward the three green SHIELD agents and tried to ignore the fact that Coulson and Po were both obviously scrutinizing what he was doing. Logan had to ask the three of them one question before he moved forward. "Are you guys sure you're ready for this?"

"Oh yeah," Fitz said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Means I get to keep my favorite tutor," Skye said with a crooked little smirk.

"What do you know already?" Logan asked, ignoring her commentary entirely, though it was clear he wasn't exactly comfortable with the prospect of teaching them. Not without knowing what they were up against or what kind of goals they wanted to reach. He waited for them to decide who would step forward first as Coulson and Po both retreated to the far wall to stay out of their way.

Simmons gestured between herself and Fitz. "Well, Fitz and I had to go through some basic training to get cleared to leave the labs…" she said almost proudly.

"And both of us know how to handle weapons, since, well, we make them," Fitz said with a little grin.

"Uh huh," Logan said, unblinking as he held his hands up palms out in front of himself. "Hit me."

Both of the scientists glanced at each other, though Skye was smirking that much wider. "Just your hand?" Simmons asked, for clarity's sake.

"You ain't gonna hit anything else, but you can try," Logan drawled out.

Simmons looked a little nervous, but since she'd been the one to ask, Fitz was waving her forward. She shuffled up to Logan and made a fist to draw back and hit him — though she clearly wasn't putting her all into it. He caught her fist when she made contact and gave her a look. "Don't they show you how to throw a punch?"

"We… only barely passed the field agent requirements," Simmons admitted.

"You can say no," Logan told her before he let out a little sigh and started to adjust the way she was making her fist. "This time, don't use just your arm. Put your weight into it." He stepped back and held his hands up again. "Whenever you're ready."

She had a deep look of concentration as she balled her hand in a fist again, checking for herself before she more or less _leaned_ into the whole punch, trying to put her body into it but instead throwing off her center of gravity as she stumbled, entirely off balance.

Of course, Logan caught her and set her upright. "Keep your feet under your shoulders, step into where you're going — so you'll be centered where you expect to end up. More or less."

Once more, Simmons tried to follow his instructions, checking her posture and her hand positioning herself with a careful precision before she threw a punch that, to her credit, had more backing to it simply because she was trying harder.

"Better," Logan told her before he glanced around the gym. Oddly enough, Fury had multiple heavy bags of varying sizes staged around the place. "Get your wraps on … then gloves too. Take your time, do it right, and we'll get started over there." He gestured toward the line of heavy bags as the three of them nodded in agreement.

Fitz and Simmons of course rushed to do exactly as he'd asked — the 'good student' mode already activated — but Skye couldn't resist lightly punching Logan's arm. "I already know how to punch," she teased.

"Alright, sure," Logan said with a little shrug. "Still plenty more you can learn. We haven't done this _officially_ before — so you can learn punch numbering with frick and frack."

She grinned. "Well, fine. I guess I can learn about numbers and stuff. That's what I told Elsie you were working with me on, isn't it?"

"My numbers are more fun than yours," he told her with a little smirk.

"We'll see," she said before she flounced off to go get wrapped up and slip on her gloves.

Logan shook his head and turned to Fitz. "You're up."

Fitz was still slightly bouncing in place, ready to learn, grinning from ear to ear, and when he went to show Logan his version of a punch, he tried to put as much _oomf_ into it as possible. But his efforts were met with the same correction on his form and his fist and a little nod to keep grounded so he wasn't knocked out of the air before he went off to get ready.

Logan turned to Coulson after he was sure Fitz was out of range. "What do you want 'em to know?"

"I want them to be able to hold their own in a fight without backup," Coulson told him. "May won't always be there to bail them out."

Logan nodded and turned to watch the trio as he thought it over. "I'll figure something out, but if you have requests for anything specific ..."

"I'll leave it to your discretion," Coulson said.

"If you say so," Logan said before he turned toward where they were gathering up to get started. "Alright guys — you know the difference between a jab, a hook, and an uppercut?"

Skye smirked and nodded, though Fitz and Simmons glanced at each other. "I think we can tell the difference with the uppercut, but…" Simmons trailed off and looked incredibly embarrassed.

"You'll get it," Logan promised. "They're pretty self-explanatory. Jab is straight in; hook you keep your arm bent and turn from the waist as you throw it from the side; uppercut doesn't come straight in but from down below. And that's how the numbers run. Strong arm starts your numbers. For me, one is a right jab, two is left, three is right hook, four left, five and six uppercuts. Saves air that way."

Already, Simmons was nodding, and Fitz was repeating the numbers to himself, grinning at the organization of it.

"Pick a bag and we'll start out easy: 1,2." Logan turned toward Skye. "You wanna show them the difference, Killer?"

She made a wide and sweeping gesture. "Your floor, teach," she said, grinning.

"Figures," he muttered, though he didn't pick up a pair of gloves as he had the two scientists come where they could see the difference in the hits. He did it slow so they could see how to make the most of them, and when they seemed to have it, he turned to the bag, shook his arms out, and nodded to himself. "Now _why_ I use numbers. Call it out so you can see how it flows."

Fitz and Simmons glanced at each other and seemed to share a silent agreement before they started to call it out, alternating between themselves as they would take turns calling out one number each — though in a quick pace, picking up each other's pace without hesitation as Logan hammered the bag.

When they got to a reasonable point where they could see how well the number system worked, Logan stepped back and gestured for them to take it up themselves. "Nothin' but a little repetition." The two scientists shared a look and went to it, and it wasn't long at all before he could hear them muttering numbers to themselves, though he had to smirk when he realized Fitz was muttering both the numbers and the names so he could commit the list to memory more fully. It didn't take them long to wear out doing it, but it was clear they were enjoying themselves.

"Now, a dirty trick," Logan said. "Since … I guess that's part of the job." He took a roll of tape with him over to the heavy bag, stopped in front of Skye, and gave her a smirk. "You're gonna kick a guy in the leg — where do you hit 'em?"

"Knees?" Skye asked.

Logan didn't say anything either way and instead gestured to the bag. "Kick the bag — wherever you think that is."

She grinned at him and did as he asked, though Logan watched where she kicked and took a piece of tape to mark the level before he had both Fitz and Simmons do the same. He stepped back, and for the first time, Coulson looked a little confused as he watched. Of course, moments later, Logan called Coulson over to stand next to the bag.

"You're about average height, aren't you?" Logan asked, to which Coulson frowned and nodded. Logan turned to his trio of students and locked onto Skye first. "Knees only work about half the time, but..." He stepped back and pointed out where the lines were in relation to Coulson. "You're all way off. If you want to take 'em down hard — go for the point where the muscles attach just over the knee on the outside of the leg." When he pointed out the spot on the leg he was referring to, using his own leg as he explained it, Simmons had to cringe, knowing where that part of the lesson was going as Logan marked the bag at the level of that point on Coulson's leg with a different color tape.

"When you kick it, use your shin … not your foot. Hit it _hard._ It won't necessarily be something you see happen right away — but when it happens, and that whole thigh muscle tears loose, they won't be standing, let alone fighting."

Simmons was still cringing, but Skye grinned at the explanation. "Mind if I try?"

"Go for it," Logan said. "But get used to kicking at that level without looking for it. It's an easy kick to block if you're fightin' anyone with half a brain."

"So ... only some of the guys we'll be facing," Skye said with a smirk.

"Most of 'em," he replied. "Trained soldiers know to try and block, and legs are easy to take out — just don't hit the knee. That'll hurt you more'n the guy you're kicking."

"Just guys?" Skye couldn't help but ask, noting the distinction.

"I try not to cripple girls."

"You're lucky May's not here to hear that," Fitz said with a little grin. "She'd say you're not thinking wide enough."

"Probably," he admitted. "But I didn't say I wouldn't fight 'em or kill 'em. Just that I don't want to cripple 'em."

"He's old-fashioned," Skye said, grinning his way.

Logan let out a breath and gestured to the bag. "Get back to work, slackers. Get through this, and I'll let you pick out what we do next time. Since you probably have an idea of what you need."

"Pins," Skye said in a tone that suggested she'd already thought about it.

Logan slowly turned her way with a little frown. "You mean _holds_?"

"No, you already showed me plenty of those. I mean pins," she said with one hand on her hip.

Logan frowned deeper and turned to look at Fitz and Simmons, who both were nodding along. "Whatever. Pins. Fine."

"Great," she said, this time with a crooked sort of smile as she rejoined the other two in kicking and practicing, though she and Simmons seemed to be on the same page about _something_ as they grinned at each other while Logan called out their punch-kick combinations.

* * *

 _October 11_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

The first thing that had changed about how waking the new Tahiti kids were handled was the simple fact that the sterile, aseptic room was gone. The first to wake up under Dr. McCoy's watchful eye was young Alex Summers — and he was the first of them to do so in his assigned room, in a real bed, with more human surroundings, even down to a vase full of daisies on the bed stand.

Across the small room, sitting in chairs and waiting for him to wake up, were the good doctor himself and Alex's old district partner, Kitty.

Alex blinked around the room for a moment, clearly surprised and trying to figure out what had happened. "So… the desert's gone?" he managed at last. "Or am I _really_ out of it?"

"No, we're not in the desert anymore," Kitty assured him. "The Games are over, Alex. Welcome back!"

"Oh ... okay," Alex said, looking and sounding relieved, though that was as far as he got before Kitty couldn't wait any longer and simply threw her arms around him in a huge hug.

Alex hugged her right back, nervously grinning at first and then doubling down to hug her hard as the relief of not being in the Games anymore hit him, and when she finally managed to let him go, he glanced over at Hank. "So, who're you?"

"Henry McCoy," he said as he offered his hand. "Former victor from Ten, and your new guide to life after death, as it were," Henry teased.

"But you're not dead. Or you never were. Right?" Alex said with his head tipped to one side.

"No, I'm simply the resident medical genius running this program for now," he said.

"And that program is….?" Alex looked around the room. "Arranging rooms for kids that come back to life? Is there a clubhouse?"

Henry chuckled as he took off his glasses to clean them. "Of course, I was so excited to see you up and about that I've forgotten the 'mission statement' section of the program." He cleared his throat, took a breath, and smiled Alex's way. "We are bringing back the best and the brightest that the Games have stolen from the world in order to overthrow the Capitol's ridiculous version of oppression. You, young Mr. Summers, have made the cut."

"We're going to punch Thanos and his creepy kids in the face," Kitty said. "If you wanna help."

"Oh, I'm definitely here for that," Alex agreed, breaking into a wide smile. "Can I hit all of them, or did you already call dibs on somebody?" he couldn't help but tease.

"I'm afraid the order has already been set," Henry said. "Though the intention is still there, and I'm sure it won't be quite so simple as forming a line or taking a number. Though if we were to do that, I'd request we use a dunk tank. I'm sure it would be more enjoyable that way. Particularly if it were filled with carnivorous fish."

"The mental image alone is worth it," Alex said, grinning broadly. He glanced around the room once more and seemed to think something over. "So ... are we the only ones here, or … how big is this clubhouse, anyway?"

"For that, my dear boy, I'll leave the ever-so-lovely Miss Pryde to give you the grand tour," Henry said. "Feel free to come speak with myself or Charles Xavier if you have any questions or concerns, or should you find yourself out of sorts — either in mind or body."

Alex nodded at that and waited until Hank had left before he turned to Kitty with a crooked grin. "So, the Tens are running things, huh? Please tell me they didn't bring back any of _their_ tributes."

"The Tens are _not_ running things," Kitty said. "They are just … they're the victors in the know. And Bobbi Morse, and Rhodey — he's a flight instructor. I think you'll like him." She pulled at his arm to take him out into the busy hall and down to the big, open rec room, where a large number of Tahiti kids were gathered, playing games and watching a movie.

Alex took a moment to take everyone in, recognizing several of the kids from their Games as well as a few from the year before, and when he spotted Kurt — albeit a taller and broader Kurt than the one who had been on the Capitol broadcast of the Games — he glanced toward Kitty. "Hey. Your best friend's here," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, he sure is — and so is his lovely archer girlfriend," Kitty said with a giggle.

"Hey! Look at that," Alex said as Kate came back to sit with Kurt after getting a book from the shelf to read with him, over his shoulder with her hand on the page to stop him from turning it before she was done. He looked around the room — Kamala and Clara were sharing a loveseat to watch the movie; Bruce and Tony were playing chess; Clint and Natasha were deeply involved in a pool game…. "Is this everybody?" he asked.

"Most of everyone?" Kitty said. "There are more. Training or swimming — or maybe even down in the cafeteria — which, I will show you _all of that and more_ when you're ready."

"Best tour guide ever," Alex said with a little grin as he threw an arm around her shoulders. "Gotta be better than if they asked my brother to do it. You know he'd just be telling me where to go the whole time."

"Yeah, um. Scott didn't make it though, so …" Kitty let it fall.

Alex stopped and turned her way, losing the grin entirely. "What's that supposed to mean? I thought this place cured death!"

"It can't cure everything," she said, looking truly upset on his behalf as she watched his expression fall. "They tried, but … it didn't work on him. I'm sorry, Alex."

Alex stared at her openly for a good long time. "That… I was just getting used to him," he finally muttered as he started to shake his head, his good mood completely gone in an instant. "What _happened_ to him that they can't fix?"

"He took on a giant black widow spider and lost," Kitty said. "Something about the venom was a problem with the process."

"That… sounds like him," Alex had to admit. For a moment, Alex had a look on his face that seemed suspiciously like he was a bit overcome, and it was clearly the case when he roughly cleared his throat and tried to change the subject in a voice that betrayed more emotion than Kitty thought he entirely meant to show. "So who won, anyway? I see most of our rooftop club up here…"

"America Chavez from Twelve, but yeah, it almost looks like rooftop was a requirement to get in, doesn't it?"

"Must be because that was the best group of kids outside of Nine I've ever seen," Alex decided.

"Of course it was," she said with a smirk. "We were there."

Alex smirked right back at her. "Too bad your big blonde friend isn't on the victor list," he teased.

"Yeah… he got married," Kitty said with her nose scrunched up. "To the green princess."

"Well, we're planning to punch her in the nose anyway," Alex said, waving his hand. "We'll fix it."

"I hope so," she said. "He doesn't look very happy at _all_ when they show him on the news."

"We get the news down here?" Alex asked. "Great! So when do we get this party swinging and get back home? My parents are probably beside themselves, and I sort of had, you know, things to do... "

"We're not allowed to go home yet," she said. "None of our families know we're alive — and they can't. Not now anyhow."

"Well, why the hell not?" Alex asked. "That sounds stupid."

"It's a secret, Alex. How can we be a secret army if they know we're alive?" She shook her head at him. "When the public finds out about us — whenever that is — _then_ we'll be able to see them again. I'm sure."

He let out a breath and shrugged up to his ears. "I'm not very patient, Kitty. That's a _long_ time to wait. Doesn't sound like there's a set timetable."

"Maybe less than you think," she said. "Revolution starts during the victory tour."

"Hey! Now we're talking," Alex said with a grin. "What day is it now, August something-ish? That's not too far…"

"October," she said. "You've been out for a while."

"October?" he repeated, looking totally gobsmacked as he spun her way, eyes wide.

"And you're not even the last one. They're trying to bring back Billy from Twelve. America's partner? Dr. McCoy said he was going to push to get him back soon, so it could be any day."

Alex looked like he was trying to get his composure back. Again. "That's great news; he was a good kid too," he said. "I'm surprised America won and not him — wasn't she going to get him through?"

"She was," Kitty said. "You can watch the videos of what happened if you want, but the short story on that is the stupid trackers with the poison."

Alex reached almost without thinking about it for his arm at that. "Ouch."

"They're gone. Don't worry about that," she assured him.

"Good, because that … was probably freakier than being reaped and being in the Games when they told me that."

"It was," she said with a grim expression. "I was there… he … it was bad."

Alex turned her way when he heard the tone in her voice and watched her for a moment before he put a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, Kitty. That… sounds like it sucked."

"I could go for some ice cream, how about you?" she said, straightening up suddenly.

"They have ice cream here?" He grinned at the revelation.

"They have pretty much everything we want," she told him. "We are technically in the Capitol, after all."

"Well, I only got to try it once before the Games, but I think I liked it, so… lead on."

* * *

 _October 13_

 _Fury's Gym in the Triskelion_

* * *

So far, the junior members of Coulson's team all agreed: Logan was the best fighting instructor they'd ever had — though they were sure not to say so in front of May unless they wanted to wake up to find all of their clothes glued to the ceiling or something equally ridiculous and impossible to pin on her.

Logan's morning session with Po had run long, but as it turned out, the old master had made a point to put a heavy emphasis on meditation, which … was frustrating to start with for Logan, but he was beginning to understand why he was pushing it so hard. It seemed like the long and short of it was to get him to slow down and not be quite so reactive. Tap into his training rather than simply react.

Logan tipped his head Coulson's way and went to stretching while he waited for the other three to catch up to him. "You guys know what you want to do?" he asked — clearly giving them an out if they wanted it.

"Let's work on pins," Skye said brightly, grinning outright. Both of the science kids nodded in agreement. "I want to know how to get out if a creep tackles me," she added, though Logan suspected it was only so she sounded more reasonable about it.

"Mmhmm," Logan said as he turned to the other two. "You all in agreement, or is that just her take?"

"Oh, well, it's _Skye's_ turn to pick," Fitz said, nodding, though he too, was smirking lightly.

"When it's my turn, I'm requesting holds," Simmons said with a bright smile as Fitz leaned forward with his arms crossed.

"We talked it over earlier, and we've decided that the most reasonable way to approach this is for us to simply take turns picking," Fitz explained.

"And we really could use the course on pins anyway," Simmons added, her nose scrunched up as she shook her head.

Logan narrowed his eyes and watched them for a moment before he nodded slowly and led the way to the mats. He didn't look to see if they'd followed before he waved for one of them to step up. "The big thing is getting your shoulder up before they can keep you down. If you can pull up one shoulder, you can lever yourself up and reverse the pin on them."

Simmons stepped forward with a little nod, already arranging herself in a way that would keep her shoulders loose. "Alright then," she said softly as she rolled her neck and shook out her arms like she thought she was going to grab a hold of Logan and take him down in a wrestling match first.

But Logan let out an amused sort of huff and went to the ground before he told her where to pin him. He took his time getting her to place her hands in the right spots near his shoulders and where to keep her center of gravity to keep him from just tossing her before he carefully and explicitly explained how he was going to shift out from under her and use a leg lock to reverse the pin in a quick, smooth move.

Simmons seemed a bit flustered by the whole thing, particularly in how she was sitting on him to keep him there — though not quite as much as Fitz, since it was starting to dawn on him how close they'd have to be to do the pins. But like a good little student, Simmons did her level best to follow Logan's instructions, still a little hesitant until he promised with a little smile that she wasn't going to hurt him. She let out a nervous and slightly intimidated laugh before she took a deep breath and followed through, surprised into a pleased smile when it worked, even if he'd guided her through and let her shift him easily.

"Not bad. See if you can do it without the walkthrough this time," Logan told her from where she had him pinned again.

Simmons looked a bit wide-eyed at the suggestion, still a little flustered at the proximity as they reversed positions, but she nodded and pulled back the thin strands of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail before she tried again — and Logan could hear her muttering his instructions to herself the whole time as if she was memorizing for a test. But he didn't say a word, since it clearly helped her learn. It did seem to help her pull out the leg lock to reverse the pin, too, so he was fine with it for now.

When she managed to pull it off without coaching, he looked up at her from the mat with a little smirk. "You'll wanna keep what you're plannin' to yourself once you get the hang of it. Other than that, if you do end up pinning someone, don't try to hold them down by the wrists," Logan said. "You don't have the upper body strength to keep 'em down."

"Sorry, yes, I'll work on that," Simmons said, a bit embarrassed.

"It's new," Logan told her. "You'll get it."

"Of course," she said. "It's just a matter of learning, practicing…" She nodded to herself.

"Muscle memory and a good partner to throw."

Simmons nodded her agreement as she took a step back. "Who's next?" she asked, over her shoulder. "It's not too hard."

Logan didn't move but to sit up and turn his head toward the other two. "You guys wanted to do this, so get with it. Gotta run through it with everyone."

"Let me try it," Skye said as she stepped forward, though she was wearing a crooked sort of smirk that Simmons seemed to understand. The two girls shared a look, and after Skye passed Simmons, the scientist didn't turn around right away, instead doing her best to keep from giggling.

As before, Logan let Skye pin him properly, then walked her through what she'd have to do when it was her that was pinned. He explained it evenly, all the way through the movement until he had her pinned. "Whenever you're ready," Logan said, perfectly-business like and waiting to see where she'd need correction.

But instead of following the instructions he'd been giving, she shifted slightly and pushed forward so they were close enough for her to kiss him outright. Even so, it was only a long enough kiss to surprise him before she flat out turned the tables and pinned him, smirking widely and clearly pleased with herself.

"That'd work too," he said as she grinned wider at him before he frowned at her for a second. "Dirty trick."

"I thought that was the name of the game here," she said, still smirking and still perched over him.

"Yeah, but I don't think you need my tricks if you're planning to pull that one," he said with a little laugh. "Not sure you'd _want_ to."

"Yeah, I think this was a special case," Skye agreed with one eyebrow quirked up. "Wouldn't pull it on any creeps, just my instructor." She still hadn't let him up and was grinning wider and wider while Fitzsimmons clearly looked like they'd known this was the plan the whole time. Though Coulson looked shocked. Openly.

"Alright, hot shot. Whatcha gonna do with me now?" Logan had to tease when it was clear she thought this was how the lesson was going to end.

"Try that move again," she said with a little grin. "I may need the practice."

"Yeah, you definitely need some work," Logan deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes at him and didn't let him up. "Rude. Sore loser."

He chuckled, then pulled off the same move at full speed without warning her. Once she was pinned, he let his voice drop quieter. "Yeah. I'm a real sore loser, darlin'. Come on. Whatcha got?"

For an instant she blushed, and then, she did pull off the move that he had explained without any dirty tricks, grinning triumphantly before she finally let him up and took a step back. "How's that?"

"More what I was expectin'," Logan said, nodding. "But not as fun."

Skye grinned wider and thumbed over her shoulder at Coulson, who looked like he was trying not to call an end to the whole thing when technically they were still learning. "Next time."

Logan repositioned himself as she walked backwards. "C'mon, Fitz — try to keep your lips to yourself," Logan called out, though he nodded Skye's way. "That trick was only ever gonna work once."

"It was a really good once, though," she told him low before she stepped closer to Simmons, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat as Fitz — who looked like he just wasn't sure what to do at this point — got his chance to step up.

"I'm _not_ kissing you," Fitz told Logan outright.

"Please don't," Logan said as he waved him over, and the two boys went through the same pin while Skye was left with Simmons poking her in the ribs and whispering back and forth with her.

Coulson, meanwhile, looked like his head might explode. He couldn't exactly stop the exercise now that Logan wasn't letting Skye just … pin him, and his team really did need the practice... not to mention the teaching time was excellent for Logan…

Coulson hadn't heard May come in until she leaned over his shoulder with a little smirk. "I was wondering when one of them would get a move on," she said, and he turned to her with both eyebrows raised.

"You knew…"

"Oh, please. It's not like Skye's subtle," May said dismissively. "What are you so worried about? You've left her alone with him for weeks at a time without anything untoward."

"In the middle of training, May."

"It was a good move," May said, smirking wider. "Lighten up, Phil. She's a grown woman, not one of your little teenagers downstairs."

"You're not concerned with the backlash?" Coulson asked. "Every mission that kid goes on is high risk."

"Weren't we just in your office a few days ago with you voicing your concerns that he doesn't have anything but missions and training?" May pointed out. "Is he more or less likely to come back if he's got something to come back to?"

"We're not out of the Capitol yet," he pointed out. "He's still stuck under contract …"

"And Skye knows that," May said. "She's the one who dug up all that information. You've seen the work she's already done on that account yourself. I think she can make the decision herself, considering how well-informed she is." She patted his arm. "Tell you what. If you're so worried, I'll be in charge of consoling her if she decides to back out of this — deal?"

"Do I have another option?" he asked.

"No, you can't ask Fitzsimmons to create a time machine to make it so that all the kids you have under your command stop growing up. But it's a nice thought," she said with an unmistakable smirk.

He looked over to the little group, who to his surprise had moved on to a different pin already — and before he could really see what they were up to, it all went into motion. Logan had figured out a way to incorporate their last lesson into this one so that it looked less like a tutorial and more like a drill. And all three of them were looking like they knew exactly what they were doing.

"Anything else you want to worry needlessly about?" May asked, her tone almost smug. When Coulson turned her way for a moment, looking more irritated, she only looked _more_ smug. "No? Then you know where to find me." She smirked his way and headed for the door, though she paused and seemed to reconsider. "You're coming with me," she told him, and considering the tone she was using, he knew better than to argue.

"I could have sworn this was my team," Coulson said as May held the door open for them to leave.

"We only let you think that," May told him, the usual smirk stretching into an honest smile that had Coulson shaking his head at her.

The training session continued until Logan was sure all three of his students had it down and were comfortable with the moves before he called it for the day, but he made sure to grab Skye's arm before she could slip off.

"What was that for?" Logan asked, waiting just long enough for Fitzsimmons to clear the door. "Just trying to throw me off?"

She shook her head at that. "Not _just_. I mean, it worked to throw you off, but not _just_."

Logan watched her, frowning slightly before he shook his head. "That ain't how you do it then."

"What, throw you off or…"

He shook his head again, almost impatientl,y before he pulled her to himself tightly and kissed her for a long moment until the kiss met its natural end. For just a moment, they stayed right there, barely broken apart until Logan looked up to meet her gaze. He gave her a little raised eyebrow look and simply stepped back before he turned and headed off to prep for his mission that was set for later that night.

Which meant Skye was in an _excellent_ mood when she headed back to where Coulson's team was stationed in the Triskelion. The whole thing had gone swimmingly, she thought, and Logan was a really, _really_ good kisser.

Still, she wasn't too surprised to find that Coulson was strategically positioned between her and going anywhere once she got to their team's center, and she grinned at him and waved as she tried to go around him. "What's up, AC?" she beamed at him.

"I think we need to have a talk," he said.

"I already got the birds and the bees talk, thanks, but it's _adorable_ that you think I need it," she said, patting him on the arm as she moved to go around him anyway.

"We still need to talk," Coulson insisted. "I don't think you've thought this through. There is a lot you seem to be glossing over here."

"Like what? I _know_ how to keep a secret, Coulson. I'm not gonna blow his sneak," she said, waving her hand.

"Where should I start?" he asked, sounding entirely out of patience. "There's the black ops death squad thing, the fact that he's one of Fury's favorites on _top_ of that … not to mention the fact that he's a victor with a giant target on his back. Then there's the simple matter that the kid is _entirely_ unstable. Where do _you_ want to start, Skye?"

"I think you're looking at all the wrong things," she countered. "You forgot the part where he's nice, he is the sweetest guy, he's good looking, and…"

"His job with your team is to literally teach you the meanest, dirtiest tricks he can," Coulson pointed out.

"And they _work,_ and they saved my life, which is great," Skye said. "Nothing wrong with self-defense, AC."

"I just don't want you to get too wrapped up," he said finally. "If something goes wrong—"

"Listen, we're about to start a war, and a whole lot of things are going to change, and I'm not going to let that stop me from doing what I want, okay?" she said, though she softened her gaze and threw her arms around Coulson's neck in a hug. "But you're sweet to worry, AC." With that, she gave him one last squeeze before she all but flounced off to go track down Simmons so the two of them could giggle together over how very, very well their plotting had worked out.


	13. Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

**Chapter 13: "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder"**

* * *

 _October 16_

 _District Twelve_

* * *

Teddy woke up at dawn, before anyone else in America's house in Twelve's Victor's Village was even thinking about waking up. Not that he'd slept well anyway.

It was — _would have been_ — Billy's birthday today, and while they'd talked about plans for the sixteenth birthday bash, now, it was just Teddy and his best suit, the one he always wore for the Reapings, as he pulled on a jacket and gloves. It was still early enough in the morning that there was a heavy frost on the ground covering the leaves, and the mid-October chill could cut through even a good jacket when it was wet outside like it was that morning.

Teddy slipped past Tommy, who was completely dead to the world where he had fallen asleep on the couch watching the news — not because he was terribly interested in the news but because it was good background noise — and out the door. He wouldn't be surprised if Tommy eventually caught up to him — along with most of the others — but for now, he wanted to go alone.

The Victor's Village was situated toward the outskirts of the district, and while that did make it easier to get to the fenceline, it also meant that they were closer to the cemetery, which was also on the outskirts. Teddy was sure whoever had planned the layout of the district did that on purpose, but he didn't know if it was the same for other districts or if someone in Twelve was just particularly mean about the whole thing.

The leaves had largely fallen off the trees by that point, their bright colors having faded with the frost where they littered the ground. His footsteps were the only sound as Teddy crunched through them, though he wasn't surprised to see that they were cleared off of a few well-visited places in the cemetery. Cassie, Kate, Billy — he knew America came by here often enough to make sure they were taken care of. She disappeared frequently to slip off for things like that, and he was grateful for it; it made things a little easier if he didn't have to sweep back frost-covered leaves from Billy's headstone.

He did still clear it off a bit, just for something to do, something concrete, as he knelt down beside Billy for a moment, reaching into the pocket of his jacket for the last red rose of the season that he'd found by the fenceline, kissed with frost. "Happy birthday, Billy," he muttered quietly as he set it down on the ground underneath Billy's name.

The district was still and quiet, except for the far distant sound of the first few miners headed down to work. Teddy sighed and rearranged himself so that he was more comfortably seated, staring at Billy's name etched in stone in front of him as he tried to come up with something to say. He was down here often, talking to Billy — he felt like he'd already said most of what there was to say. It wasn't like life in Twelve was that much more exciting.

He let out a sigh as he re-crossed his legs. "So… your brother hogs the couch," he started out, settling in for the morning to say what he could. Call him crazy, but he still felt like talking to Billy helped. Like he was still around.

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Whatever this was, it was a much, much better feeling than the last thing Billy remembered. Not fire and white-hot pain and agony but sort of a cushioned, floating sensation. This was probably what it was like to be dead, Billy decided.

His suspicions were only confirmed when he started to come out of the floating and into something more solid — and at first, the comedown was a little disappointing until he realized when he opened his eyes that both Cassie and Kate were there waiting for him, both of them grinning widely and clearly holding their breaths a second before they both burst forward, one girl on either side of him as they wrapped him up in a huge hug.

He grinned and did his best to wrap them both up in return. "I missed you guys," he said fervently, which, of course, only got both of them to hug him harder.

He would have been perfectly content to stay in that hug, too, but as he looked around the room — wondering vaguely why the afterlife looked sort of like a hotel room — he had to ask: "America's not here?"

"She won," Cassie said with a sad sort of smile.

He looked wide-eyed between the two girls, but when both of them nodded, he let out all his breath at once. "She okay?" he asked, wincing with one eye closed. "That's got to be hard, I mean... all of us here…."

"She's doing alright," Kate said before she reached over and pinched Billy in the arm. He yelped, and she smirked. "And you're not dead, see?"

He wrinkled his brow, totally confused by that. "But… you both…"

Cassie giggled at his expression and then wrapped him up in a hug again, and with the new information that he wasn't dead, he noticed the little changes. She was still tiny, but she was taller, older for sure. And Kate looked older too, her hair a little longer… "I don't…."

"Welcome to Tahiti," Kate told him with a grin. "Where SHIELD brings kids back to life so we can all learn how to totally kick Thanos' butt."

He stared at them both with wide eyes, still not quite sure he was following them, before he finally just had to shake his head. "So that means… you two have been alive this whole time?" he asked at last.

"There were a few months between the two of us… not so much," Cassie said with a little shrug. "But now? Yes, totally, alive — and we were watching your special brand of passionate stupidity for all the country to see."

Billy reached up to cover his face with both hands. "Oh, great."

"It was really sweet. Stupid, but sweet," Kate assured him.

He shook his head, his hands still covering his face for a moment before he glanced back up at the two girls. "But that means… what about Teddy?" he asked, his expression totally open.

"I don't think he _had_ to watch it," Cassie teased.

Billy rolled his eyes at her. "That's not what I meant," he said. "I just mean — Teddy still thinks I'm dead. We have to tell him."

"Yes, he does, and so does everyone else back home," Cassie replied. " _For now._ More or less, if they're not here? In the Tahiti part of the building? They don't know about it."

"That's not fair," Billy said with a deep frown. "We have to tell Teddy. Do you know what he's going through right now? On _my_ account?" He looked completely serious as he glared at both girls.

Kate and Cassie glanced at each other before Kate offered, "Well, it's really only a couple more months until the revolution—"

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, yeah, it's October," Cassie said. "Happy birthday, by the way. Hank totally didn't do it on purpose, but — it's the sixteenth!"

"Her _boyfriend_ made sure that there is a bunch of cupcakes waiting when you're ready," Kate said.

"Wait. Boyfriend?" Billy turned Cassie's way with both eyebrows raised, looking completely overwhelmed by the influx of new information — which, he realized in retrospect, was probably the girls' way of trying to defuse him. "When did _that_ happen?"

"Oh, about five seconds after she met him," Kate said with a smirk.

"Like you and Kurt can talk," Cassie shot back.

"Wait, Kurt's here too?" Billy turned to Kate looking totally gobsmacked. "How…?"

"If you want to meet them both, we can take you on the grand tour," Kate said with a little grin. "Show you around the place, introduce you to everyone… Kitty and Miles are going to be _so_ happy to see you up and about too, by the way."

"They're here too?"

"We brought back all the good people," Cassie said, grinning as she offered a hand to Billy to pull him up, and almost immediately, both girls had their arms looped through his.

"C'mon, Billy. You've got lots of catching up to do," Kate told him.

When they got halfway to the cafeteria, it was obvious that Kate hadn't lied to him about Cassie's beau; the hall was completely filled with Wade's enthusiastic rendition of 'Happy Birthday'. He had an apron on and was carrying a tray full of fairly extravagantly frosted cupcakes. When he was done with the song, he dropped down to his knees and held the tray up to almost nose level. "Happy birthday. Cassie said you were nice."

Billy looked from the cupcakes to the girls on either side of him before he just had to smile, since he didn't know how else to react to the whole thing, and plucked a cupcake from the tray as both Kate and Cassie did the same. "You must be Cassie's boyfriend," he supplied.

Wade just grinned that much wider. "Is she telling stories about me now?" he asked, waggling one eyebrow her way.

"Only good things," Cassie promised him with a little smile.

"She didn't tell me your name, though," Billy broke in pointedly. "I'm Billy Kaplan, and you are…?"

"Wade W. Wilson," he said, offering his hand to him once he'd re-balanced the tray. When Billy took his hand to shake it though, Wade turned it and kissed the back of his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, my liege."

Billy glanced at Cassie, who seemed totally entertained, so he just shrugged. "Did I mention I'm taken? By a very, very handsome blonde back home? Who _still thinks I'm dead?_ "

"Who will _totally_ be joining us here once we get the revolution started," Kate assured him quickly.

"Did I mention that I am currently with the amazing Zombie Queen?" Wade answered.

"I might have heard that somewhere," Billy said, grinning over at Cassie.

"He's just friendly," Cassie laughed.

"Yeah, I see that," Billy said before he bit into the cupcake and shrugged lightly. "This is actually really good," he told Wade.

"And they'll be even better with everyone else," Kate said. "C'mon, Wade, he hasn't even met Kurt yet. Let's kick off this birthday bash!"

* * *

 _October 20_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Now that everyone had been through the Tahiti process, the focus on that side of SHIELD was on getting everyone ready for the revolution. They didn't have much time before the tour got rolling — just a little over two months — and of course, there was a whole new round of kids to deal with as well.

Which meant Skye had several new students to get through the basics, not to mention giving the original group that she'd taught a refresher course like she'd done with Logan. There were enough kids that she and Fitz were tag-teaching again, but she had to admit this it was honestly _fun_ to be back in Tahiti teaching again. She enjoyed it, and she liked the people there.

She should not have been surprised, however, when Kurt managed to corner her out of nowhere. "You've been avoiding us."

She probably would have been able to argue that point more effectively if he hadn't gotten taller than her in the few months since she'd seen him. "Uh ... no. I totally have not."

"But it's been _months_ , teacher," Kurt said with a light tone, though Skye was pretty sure he hadn't blinked yet.

"Yep. And I've been working with my other team trying to track down a Hydra traitor who totally wants to kill my boss and creep on me, so sorry if my schedule's a little full," she shot back. "You're not my only priority."

"Your other team, huh?" he asked with a little smirk. "Who's _on_ your other team?"

"Fitzsimmons, Coulson, May," Skye listed off. "Mostly it's me, Coulson, and May in the field, though, but Fitzsimmons is learning how to fight a little better." She smirked to herself a little wider, totally unable to hide it.

"Is that all you've been up to?"

"Um…yeah, pretty much. Tracking down Hydra and learning how to fight — and watching Fitzsimmons try not to get all flustered when they pair up to pin each other," Skye replied with a little grin. "They totally fail at that? But it's still fun to watch them try."

"So you haven't been travelling?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Recently?"

"Fairly recently," he said with a widening grin.

She shook her head at him. "Okay, spill. How long have you been spying on me, and how impressed should I be with your hacking?"

"I'm not spying on you," he said, looking completely affronted by the suggestion, even going so far as to put a hand over his heart. "And I'm not sure how impressed you should be, considering that all the best tech is coming out of _our_ lab."

She just laughed at that. "So you got someone else to help you? And here I thought you were putting my lessons to good use."

He shrugged. "A bit," he replied. "But the real fun is in the Stark tech we have."

"Which is what you're using to _spy on me_."

He took a step closer. "I told you, I'm not spying on _you_."

"Then who, exactly, are you spying on?" she challenged him, even though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

Kurt tipped his chin up and looked down his nose at her. "You'll have to try harder to get me to answer when you won't answer my questions."

"Then ask me a question," she challenged. "I already told you who's on my team, what we've been up to… I don't know what you want, Kurt." She shrugged openly as if he was being entirely unreasonable, which, in Skye's point of view, he kind of was.

Kurt drew himself up a little taller. "I want to know what your intentions are with my best friend."

"There it is," she said, nodding to herself, though she gave Kurt a reassuring smile. "My intention is to date him — is that a problem?"

"That depends. How long has this been going on?"

"Do you want me to answer with how long I've _wanted_ to date him or how long since he started kissing me, because those are very, _very_ different answers," she said with a wide grin that she didn't even try to hide.

He looked stunned for just a second, then grabbed her arm and pulled her into a room down the hall. "Spill."

Skye was grinning ear to ear; she didn't want to keep it a secret anyway, and she hadn't expected it to take Kurt long to figure it out, so she was brimming with news that she didn't even pretend to make him fish for. "We met on the train during his victory tour — long story short, he totally saved me from face-planting on the train in front of my evil mentor. And I mean _evil_. Next thing I know, I'm assigned to teach him hacking skills, we get snowed in at his place, where I find out he's pretty much the sweetest guy on the planet who lets orphans climb all over him, like, who does that? And then he started teaching me self-defense and …" Skye shrugged lightly and tried to play it coy. "I figured it's been almost a year now, I know he doesn't hate me, soooo … I might as well try it. I kissed him in the middle of a pin, and then he kissed me after class — and he is a _very_ good kisser, by the way," she said, all in a rush, before she took a deep breath. "Did I miss anything vital?"

But Kurt was smiling her way and shaking his head at her. "I think you hit the high points," he said before he pulled her into a bear hug. "But now you are not allowed to keep secrets from me."

She returned the hug, grinning. "I wasn't planning on keeping it secret _too_ long. But in the interest of full disclosure, that was who you were competing against the first time I taught this course," she told him, simply to watch his reaction.

He laughed again, but when he thought it over for a moment, he began to frown. "Why would he need to know that stuff?"

"He's been going on missions too — didn't you know? It's not like the victors _don't_ help with the revolution stuff."

"I suppose it makes sense, but Bobbi made it sound like there weren't many involved…"

"I don't know if that there _are_ many involved, but I mean — come on, Kurt. Like Logan _wasn't_ going to get involved as soon as he saw how screwed up things were."

"He's not doing anything stupid, is he?" Kurt asked, looking more serious again.

She bit her lip. "Define _stupid_. Because there's stupid for you and me? And then there's stupid for him."

He gave her a dry look. "You could have just said yes."

"But that doesn't quite do it justice," she pointed out.

Kurt made a noise that clearly displayed how irritated he was with the idea of Logan being stupid on grander scales before he let out a sigh. "So, how long do you think it will take before we can tell him?"

"We'll just have to watch him after the revolution kicks off," Skye admitted. "I mean, I don't think it'll take _too_ long, especially with you working Coulson from this end too," she added with a little smirk. "And I am totally advocating to let him in on this sooner rather than later."

"How is Dad taking it anyhow?" Kurt teased.

"Oh, about as well as you'd expect. He nearly had a heart attack when I kissed your bestie," Skye said with a grin at about the same time Kate peered into the room.

" _There_ you are. What's the deal stealing my Elf?" she asked as she slipped up to where Kurt was and kissed his cheek with a playfully possessive look on her face.

"No, you have it backwards," Kurt said with a growing smirk. "I was trying to vet her."

"What for?" Kate asked, her head tipped to one side as she studied Skye.

"He wants to decide if he approves of me kissing Logan, apparently," Skye said with a crooked smile.

Kate's jaw dropped and she looked between both of them for confirmation before she simply laughed and threw her arm around Skye's shoulder. "Okay. You and I? We've got to _talk_ , because that's not something you just _drop_ on a person," she said.

"I literally _just_ gave Kurt the rundown," Skye said. "Maybe you should take him somewhere and have him tell you the whole thing over, I don't know, dinner or something."

"Tempting, tempting, but ah, no — I think I'm on Kurt's side. We've gotta vet you. Our shortest teammate is very, very important to us," Kate said with a crooked smile.

"I think we need Peter," Kurt said seriously, his arms crossed as he kept up his serious interrogator look.

"I can get him," Kate offered.

"Wait, really?" Skye looked between them both. "Really?"

"You think you're going to get out of this with a ten second rundown?" Kurt asked. " _After_ you have been chasing after him for a year and just spent at least a week with him _alone_ at his house?" He let out a little scoffing noise illustrating exactly how ridiculous the notion was.

"That," Skye said, pointing his way before she tried to draw herself up, hands on her hips, "does not count. That was pre-kissing. I was perfectly professional, I'll have you know."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms as he looked down his nose. "The _entire time_? Because either there was some _attempt_ , or you're not all that interested in him at all."

"Let's get something straight," Skye said, matching his posture. "Just because I was trying _very hard_ to not lose my job does _not_ mean I wasn't also very interested."

"But suddenly your job doesn't matter — and you start … kissing him in front of Coulson?"

"We're about to start a revolution in two months. My job description has significantly shifted," Skye pointed out.

"To kissing?"

"It … does not _exclude_ kissing," she said with a little smirk. "That's entirely off the clock, thank you very much."

"It was probably during the last visit to Seven. You know. The one where you were _gone_ for so long," Kate said with a smug sort of look on her way out the door to go get Peter.

"Yes, what about that?" Kurt asked. "Were you being professional off camera as well?"

" _Yes_ ," Skye said, though she slowly started to chew on her lip. " _I_ was. I was totally professional. _He_ was the one that said if I was cold he'd be a good space heater," she admitted.

"Oh?" he said with a little troublemaking smirk. "And did you take him up on that offer?"

She blushed and her mouth dropped open slightly. "It was _cold_. There were _coyotes_ and wolves and … things. Of _course_ I did," Skye said as if that was obvious. "And… you know… after that, I sort of figured ... hey, I'm interested, he offered space heater snuggles — why not try it and see where it goes?" She shrugged and tried to play it off before things spiraled truly out of her control. "It's really not that interesting."

"By a campfire," Kurt said — though it was more a statement than a question.

"It was _hunting season_ ," Skye said. "He bagged a moose, actually."

"He said he didn't like to take anyone hunting with him," Kurt pointed out with a more smug look.

"May sort of dropped me on his doorstep for two weeks. She and Coulson wanted me to give him a refresher course — and learn some fighting tips and tricks while I was at it. So… I came with."

"And you just snuggled?"

"On the last night," Skye said. "Before that, it was just hunting, a little sneaking advice, and lots of me being cold and him stoking the fire."

"So it was a pity snuggle," he teased.

"It was _not_ ," Skye said, sounding perfectly insulted — and then flustered as that was, of course, the moment Peter came in with Kate.

"What was a pity snuggle?" Peter asked, though the grin on his face told Skye that Kate had already filled him in on what was happening.

"Logan gave her a pity snuggle, and she had to go and kiss him for it," Kurt said as if that was the whole story.

"That is just _not_ what happened," Skye insisted, one hand on her hip and trying to keep from laughing. "And for your information, _he's_ been kissing _me_ ever since."

Kurt grinned wider at her, his chin resting on the palm of his hand. "Oh?"

She glanced around the room at the three members of Logan's old alliance before she squared up her shoulders. "You better believe it."

"She keeps flip-flopping," Kurt said to Peter. "I'm not sure if she likes him or is stringing him along."

"That's a dangerous move. If she's stringing him along, I have webbing to return the favor a lot more literally," Peter said with his best attempt at an intimidating expression when it was clear he was inches away from laughter.

"Which brings us back to … what are your intentions with our friend?" Kurt said with a wide smile now that the whole group was there for the answer.

"They are _pure_ ," Skye said with one hand over her heart and a twinkle in her eyes. "Just a lot of kissing the sweetest guy alive."

"Second sweetest," Kate said, as Peter snorted trying to keep the laughter in check. "You forgot to count Kurt."

"And you're sure it's _Logan_ we're talking about here?" Peter had to ask.

"Do you know anybody _else_ who has a small army of tiny orphans?" Skye asked.

Peter and Kurt shared a look and at the same time said, "Elsie."

"Yeah, she's the general of the army," Skye laughed.

"I thought Logan was the general," Peter countered.

Skye thought about it. "Hmm. Four-star to Elsie's three," she decided at last. "If you'd've met her, you'd know she runs the show."

"Are you going back to Seven with him anytime soon?" Kurt asked.

"I don't actually know. Both times I didn't even know I was _going_ to Seven until I had to pack a bag and get there, and he didn't know I was coming either," Skye admitted. "It's easier when he's in the Capitol; I can see him more often then."

"So he's here?" Kate asked, beaming.

Skye looked around at the three eager faces and nodded slowly. "Yeah, he's in the Capitol. He's got a new trainer. Coulson likes this guy, actually, and he's _much_ nicer than the other one."

"What was wrong with the other one — and who picked them out?" Peter asked.

"Um, he was _mean_ , and Fury picked him, so I'm not even surprised," Skye said with a little sigh and a wave. "But I like the new guy, and he's been encouraging Logan to learn by teaching, so…" She grinned. "I especially like learning pins."

"She kissed him in a pin," Kurt explained. "In front of Coulson."

"And he didn't lock you both up?" Kate couldn't help but tease.

"He probably wanted to, but May pulled him back," Skye admitted. "I've never seen him look so … openly shocked."

"This story just keeps getting better and better," Peter said with a little grin.

"And it distracted Logan enough that I reversed the pin," Skye laughed.

"Ooh, I like it," Kate laughed. "I wish I could have seen that."

"I'm sure it's on tape somewhere," Skye said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Then … we can probably find it," Kate said with a growing smile.

"Where did the altercation take place, ma'am?" Peter asked, looking entirely too serious — and only just stopping short of pretending to tuck a reporter's pencil behind his ear. "For the record."

Skye raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but smile at Peter. "I can send you the tape if you want; it's from Fury's private gym."

"Fury's private gym?" Kurt said, both eyebrows raised. "Why is he working in there?"

"Because the main gyms in SHIELD might attract attention if people saw a _victor_ giving advanced fighting tips to two science geeks and a computer whiz," Skye pointed out.

"So Fury has approved the match," Peter said thoughtfully with his finger on his chin. "Interesting."

Skye turned his way with both eyebrows raised before she burst into laughter. "I totally didn't think of it that way!"

"Do you think he'd let it go on in his _gym_ if he didn't approve?" Kurt challenged. "We're not even supposed to be kissing at all — and that includes the victors that know."

"Well, we're not supposed to do _too_ much kissing. Remember, Van Helsing relaxed the rules," Kate teased him and then pulled him into a kiss just to prove her point.

"Yes, but none of us have been kissing _in front of him_ either," Peter pointed out. "Fury approved."

Skye smirked as she put her hands in her pockets and shrugged up to her ears. "Whatever you say, but I am _totally_ going with it," she said, though that only seemed to prompt a full-on Team Awesome tackle-hug. Which she was absolutely not going to complain about.


	14. Choosing Your Ties

**Chapter 14: "Choosing Your Ties"**

* * *

 _October 31_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Miles was not expecting it at _all_ when Clara Creed, of all people, dropped into the seat across from him at breakfast. "You like my little sister," she accused him without even saying hello. "So why don't you talk to her?"

He jumped the slightest bit and quickly started to shake his head. "No, no, you're just seeing things."

"Don't lie to me, Miles Morales," she said, leaning across the table. "You like her. Why wouldn't you? She's adorable, smart, and sweet."

"I mean… I mean, she's really really nice," Miles said haltingly. "I like learning throws with her. She tossed Matt across the room the other day," he said, starting to smile at the memory.

"So you should _talk_ to her."

"That's… I get all... " Miles waved his hands around at himself. "I'm usually really good at talking. Can't stop. And then all of a sudden, it's just… _poof._ Gone."

"Miles," she said with a little smile. "You can talk fine. Better than anyone I've seen … except for maybe Parker. Don't try to be clever. Just say hello."

"But I'm… I really am smart!" he argued, though judging by the scrunched up expression she gave him, that was the wrong response.

"Do you want to turn out like Fitzsimmons?" she asked.

Miles looked deadly serious as he shook his head. "That doesn't count. They've had, like, a decade more life experience than me."

"You and Kamala both are smart — crazy smart. But … if you don't at least try to talk to her … you're going to be the new Fitzsimmons. They've been dancing around each other for at least a decade." She leaned low to the table, her hands on the surface, shoulder width apart. "You'll be like Fitz. Doomed to stare across the lab at her and never. Get. Anywhere. _Ever._ " She let her voice drop to a whisper. "Fast forward … you're both in your walkers ... and still … nothing. You could die permanently and never get anywhere."

Miles looked alarmed, though he did manage a response: "Why do you care?"

"Because she's my little sister, as far as I'm concerned, and I want her to be happy." She looked over her shoulder as Kamala walked into the cafeteria. "And she watches you too."

"She does?" Miles sounded totally blindsided as he stared at her.

"When you're not looking, yes," Clara said as her smile turned proud. "She's sneakier than she looks sometimes."

"Yeah, she is really sneaky," Miles said, starting to grin. He took a little breath and glanced over at Kamala. "You really think… I just don't even know… we were separated boy/girl at the school…"

"Miles," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just be nice to her and look for a chance to hold her hand or something."

" _Hold her hand_." Miles' eyes were wide.

"I'm giving you a goal to work toward," Clara said in clarification. "Not orders to get it done today. She's shy too."

"I thought she… you know… I'm not really her type?" Miles offered. "I think she had a crush on ... you know... your partner…"

"Oh, you are so far off," Clara told him, watching Kamala as she got her breakfast. "She called us Mom and Dad. That is so not crush talk."

Miles glanced toward Kamala as well. "So... this is the 'what are you intentions staring at my daughter' talk," he surmised.

"No, this is the 'get your ass in gear' talk," Clara replied. "You two would be adorable together."

Miles took a deep breath and glanced at Kamala. "Okay. Okay…. I… I'm gonna try it," he said, nodding a few times over as he pushed himself up to his feet, glanced at Clara, and then marched right over to where Kamala was getting breakfast.

"Oh, hi Miles," Kamala said with a little wave.

Miles swallowed, glanced at Clara, and then took a deep breath… "H… O-orange juice," he said, gesturing past her to where the drinks were.

"Oh, yeah, sure," she said, stepping aside so that Miles could fill himself a glass of juice before she headed off to sit with Kitty and Gwen.

Miles watched her go for a long moment, still holding the glass of juice, before he slid back into the seat he had just occupied and put the glass next to the already full glass of apple juice he had. He glanced at Clara, then put his head down on the table. "I am terrible at this," he groaned.

She reached over and patted him on the head. "You tried; that's what's important," she promised. "Keep trying. You're already closer than Fitz."

"That's because Fitz is hopeless," Miles pointed out.

"Exactly," Clara said, with her head tipped to the side to try and catch his gaze. "You are not hopeless."

"That's good at least," he said. "Maybe by the time I'm sixteen, I'll actually have a full conversation, the rate I'm going."

"There you go," she said. "Goals." She was smirking as she said it, the self-satisfied look on her face another expression that was reminiscent of her brother, before she grinned at him. "Hey, Kamala!" she shouted.

Miles' eyes went wide, and he sat up stock straight. "What are you…"

"Hey, Clara," Kamala said, beaming wide as she made her way over to sit down beside her friend. "Hey, Miles. Are you… just really thirsty?" she asked, gesturing at the two glasses of juice.

"Mmhmm," Miles nodded, then downed the entire glass of apple juice to prove it.

"Miles was just telling me how he'd like you to show him that throw again," Clara said. "He wants to learn it better."

"Oh, sure!" Kamala agreed with a little grin. "That's one of my favorites. Just meet me in the training room, okay?"

Miles nodded quickly and drank half his orange juice. "Uh huh."

"I doubt you'll need my help," Clara said. "So just tell me how it goes later?"

"You could come," Kamala offered. "I know you don't like the training room, but it's really fun to throw Matt across the room. He doesn't mind."

"Not as much fun as it was to throw our last trainer," Clara said as she bumped Kamala's shoulder.

"True," Kamala had to agree. "Maybe we can throw him after the revolution starts."

But as had become usual for Clara, she pulled a face at the mention of the revolution and just nodded rather than agree to much of anything. "Sure, that's when it'll happen."

Kamala watched her friend for a moment before she gave her arm a little squeeze. "I'll tell you all about it, then," she promised.

"Great," Clara replied with a smile again before she winked Miles' way and left the two of them alone for a moment, both of them with awkward little smiles as they tried to be friendly.

* * *

 **That night, the Tahiti wing buzzed with tributes. The cafeteria had been transformed into a Halloween-themed party room. Sinthea frowned as she stood in a corner and sipped her soda. The paper cut-outs of skeletons and pumpkins hung from the walls and ceilings, and she saw Wade apparently holding a conversation as he dressed up one of the paper skeletons with several purple napkins, calling it "his little sugar skull."**

Sin figured the gathering had to have been "Team Awesome"'s doing. No one else could've come up with as ridiculous a scheme as this. Of Team Awesome, it had most likely been Kate's brainchild. Sometimes Sinthea wondered what exactly went on inside that girl's mind.

She noticed a platter of chocolate cookies being brought out and slightly perked up. Food made her feel better, especially when she got into these states. All she could think of was Crossbones, and how he wasn't coming back. So when Peter Parker came into the room laughing, dressed as a pirate with Gwen at his side, she suddenly found the empty soda can she held squashed thoroughly inside her fist.

Tears threatened to spill, a rarity up until recent days. Since Bruce had broken the news to her, her emotions ranged from pure, unadulterated rage to weepy despair, and everywhere else in between. As if to highlight her extremely volatile mood, she pelted the crushed can into the trash on the way to the cookies and punch.

When Kamala and Clara glanced her way, she sent them a hard stare. Sin used the ladle to fill a cup with fruit punch, then grabbed a sugar cookie shaped like a pumpkin and placed it on a plate. As she turned back to the room, Kamala had joined her.

"What?" Sinthea snapped. "Find something funny?"

"No, I… we…" Kamala floundered for words under Sin's glare and peeked over her shoulder before she drew in a breath to straighten up.

Clara slid up silently, having been hovering nearby already. "Kamala convinced me that we should ask you to join us." She looked at Sinthea carefully. "Though you never seem like you want to do anything. Not that I can complain too much myself."

Sin paused in genuine surprise. True, she didn't keep secret her disdain for the younger, weaker tributes. She stopped watching the Games with any sort of interest once Crossbones died. And there were some, Kitty especially, who made it abundantly clear that because Sinthea actively spoke well of Brock Rumlow that she would be left alone. Not that Sin minded.

"Excuse me if my mood doesn't suit you, Clara." She rolled her eyes dramatically, and Clara chuffed at her reaction. "You'll have to forgive me." Sinthea turned away and took a sip of her drink, ending the conversation. But apparently, the girls didn't get the message.

"I'm sorry Brock isn't back," Kamala offered carefully. "I mean, if you liked him, I guess he couldn't have been all bad."

Sin paused. She slowly and soundlessly grabbed a skull-decorated dessert napkin. Turning back, she spoke to the girl in a softer tone, though her ruddy cheeks spoke of pent up anger. "Do you miss Six? Did you have a family?"

Kamala sighed and nodded. "Everyday I miss home. I miss my family. But this is my home now, and I have new family."

"Brock Rumlow _was_ District Six." Sinthea murmured to her. "So now Six is completely gone."

"You have a home with us, though," Kamala insisted. "You should join us for meals. Who do you eat with usually?"

"Myself," Sin said matter-of-factly. "Occasionally Bruce. I don't need anyone else. Trust me."

Clara glared at her. "Watch it."

"Well, maybe." Sinthea smirked. "I could always do an extra workout. You two are welcome to join. I could show you some extra moves I've picked up."

"And you'd need every one of them," Clara warned, her glare betraying her familial connections.

A roar of laughter erupted from the other side of the room. Kitty had walked in wearing cat ears and a black tail, and evidently, Wade had said something funny. Kamala smiled back at Sin.

"I would love to train with you." She nodded encouragingly as Clara pulled her away, leaving Sinthea by herself again.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the room. Everyone whipped around to find Skye and Jemma laughing hysterically at a petrified Agent Fitz. A closet door stood open, a mop with eyes and a paper mouth hanging out in his face.

"Who did that?!" Fitz screeched angrily. "Who!"

"Oh, Fitz," Simmons chuckled.

Sinthea shook her head and laughed to herself. Raising the cup to her mouth, she sipped the punch and looked at the skull napkin she held.

With a sigh, she murmured, "Happy Halloween, Crossbones."

* * *

 _November 4_

 _Triskelion_

* * *

Coulson had been watching almost every one of Logan's training sessions with Master Po when they weren't simply meditating. It was fun to watch, considering the way the boy threw himself into everything, taking it as a personal challenge to master as much as he could as quickly as he could.

It was entirely unlike watching when Ogun was working with him though — the punishments were not lesson-ending. A quick corrective strike here or there whose purpose was to simply refocus Logan's attention — not drop him. And the kid was quick. Not just in how he picked things up but in dodging the strikes and blows that were meant to deal actual damage too.

Po had just finished with the lesson for the day and was cheerfully informing Logan of his progress when May and Skye walked into the training room, and Coulson could tell from her expression that Skye's assessment of the newest Tahiti recruits was finally finished. It had taken some time and a lot of one-on-one work not only to train them — but to make sure that the others hadn't backslid too.

May and Coulson shared a look for a moment, and since they clearly couldn't let Logan overhear Skye's report, a silent decision was made. "Logan," May called out. "What do you say to a friendly spar?"

He straightened up on hearing his name and smirked her way. "I'd be an idiot to say no."

May smirked right back at him as she crossed over to square up with him and warn him, "I won't go easy on you."

"I wouldn't expect you to," he replied as he took his own ready stance.

As May and Logan started up their spar, Skye pulled Coulson aside to give her report. "The new kids — they're brilliant. I really like them," she whispered to him with a crooked grin. "Especially the girls."

"I'm glad to hear it," Coulson said genuinely. "Things are going well?"

"Oh yeah. Kitty, Kamala, Gwen, Miles — give them another few months, and they could be _teaching_ the course," Skye told him, sounding proud. She paused. "Alex doesn't really put effort into it. I think he could be smart if he didn't want to goof off all the time. And Remy and Betsy are more interested in each other than the tech — but Betsy's good at it when she pays attention. Brian too — they're both about, oh, Kate and Kurt's level, I think."

"Then nobody's backslid too far?" Coulson asked.

"Well…" She shrugged. "Most of the first group needed the refresher."

"Then I'm glad you had the time to give it to them," he said with a nod, watching the fight that was moving hard and fast for a moment. "How about Clara?" he asked much quieter. "She's not interested in training at all. I was hoping to give her a focus."

"She... " Skye let out her breath. "She tried. Honestly, but she just can't get it. It would be like asking you to jump out of a cake ... it's not a good mix."

"Can't or won't?"

"Can't, I think," Skye said. "She really did put in the effort, especially because Kamala was so excited about the whole thing and wanted Clara to come with her… It's just not her thing. No biggie. We'll find something else."

The fight on the mats was starting to gear up as Logan and May moved from the simpler moves into kicks and spins. May spun quickly on one foot, the other aimed at Logan's head, though he caught it with a crooked smile — and immediately after, she pulled herself up to try and kick him with the other foot. But he caught that one too and pulled her toward himself, somehow managing to roll with her tucked into him so that when she fell to the ground, she didn't even bump her head. They were quickly back to their feet a few yards apart — and still ready to fight.

Coulson and Skye stopped their conversation to just watch as the fight got rolling again, though it was clear May was bugged by the earlier move and the fact that Logan was smirking.

May faked an approach, only to sweep Logan's legs out from under him — but as he hit the ground, he grabbed her ankle and yanked her down with him. After a quick wrestling match that involved a whole lot more leg work than either Coulson or Skye had seen before, Logan pinned her.

It was a hard pin too — and from where Skye was standing, she couldn't see a way out of it. But May gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes before she twisted hard — and dislocated her shoulder with a cry.

The sound of it had Logan staring at her for an instant before she reversed on him _hard_ and set him into a pin that was even better than the one he had used.

Logan looked up at her as she glared hard, teeth gritted and obviously in pain. It was clear to both Coulson and May that Logan was trying to decide how best to handle it, but when he twisted his head to look at her hand position a little better, he simply relaxed and let out a breath. "I'm done."

"You sure?" May asked, glaring harder somehow.

"Yep," Logan said, with a decisive nod. "I'm your prisoner."

She let out a little huff but let him go and stepped back before she pointed a finger his way. "You could have gotten out of that hold."

"You don't know that for sure," Logan said, no trace of a smile on his face. "Need a hand with your shoulder?"

She seemed to size him up for a moment and then simply nodded curtly, though as she moved to let him help, she was still frowning at him. "You would have gotten out if it was Fury."

"I would have broken his nose three moves back if it was Fury," he said as he wrapped his arm around her and rested his other hand on her shoulder while she lined up her arm right to put it back into place. "Ready when you are."

She nodded and gritted her teeth for a moment. "On your coun-" She let out a small shout when he pushed the shoulder back in. She took a few deep, cleansing breaths before he let her go, and she turned to glance his way. "If you freeze up every time you fight a girl, you can't protect her," she said low enough that Skye and Coulson couldn't hear.

He weighed it out for a moment and replied just as low, "I have no problems when it's an enemy."

"You'd better not have just lied to me. Or I _will_ come for you."

"Why would I do that?" he asked. "Some woman wants to kill me, I'm not gonna let her."

"Good." She straightened up a bit and gave him one more appraising glance as she readjusted her jacket. "Let's pick this up again next week. Some of those moves were new to me."

"You wanna make it a regular thing?" he asked. "Because I can show you the countermoves."

"I'm not too old to learn new tricks," she replied with a smirk as Coulson and Skye made their way over to where the two of them were talking quietly.

"Is that what you do every time you spar? Because if so, that's gotta wear on a person," Skye asked May, who waved her off.

"No," she said. "Only if the occasion calls for it."

"Well… if you're alright, mind if I borrow your sparring partner?" Skye asked, though she was grinning Logan's way and not May's and missed the little smirk May gave her as she waved her off.

"All yours," May said.

"Is that a requirement of SHIELD agents?" Logan asked with a little frown as he looked between them. "The complete lack of subtlety?"

"Only when we're off-duty. Something about the cloak and dagger in our line of business just brings it out," May said, perfectly straight-faced.

"Right," he said, nodding his head. "I saw the footage of you and Coulson dancing. On duty."

She met his gaze and smirked. "I do know how to run undercover ops."

"Yeah, I know, but still … not subtle," he said with a little smile.

"I could be more obnoxious, but Phil would have a coronary," May said, the smirk turning into a smile as she glanced at Coulson, who shook his head like he couldn't believe he had to put up with her in this mood.

Logan turned Coulson's way. "You look like you need a drink. Want me to raid Fury's new stash?"

"I'm fine," Coulson said, straightening his suit jacket. "I need to check on Fitzsimmons' latest project anyway. But it's good to see you're progressing well."

"You want to bring _them_ Fury's new stash?" Logan teased, though his expression was serious.

"If I do, the base won't survive," Coulson deadpanned. "Neither of them can handle their liquor."

Logan began to smirk lightly. "I think I found my new drinking buddies."

"If you do, keep them away from the lab," Coulson said seriously. "I've only seen them drunk inventing once, and it was not fun."

"Got it, no toys," he replied, but the sparkle of trouble was obvious.

Coulson had to shake his head at him. "And nothing that would cause a nationwide incident before we've even started this thing."

"On my life," Logan said with a smirk.

Coulson shook his head again. "Just _try_ not to get my agents in trouble, will you?"

"You act like I'd do it on purpose," he said as Skye started to pull him away from May and Coulson — one of whom looked entirely amused, and the other decidedly not.

"It's a thing. Trouble magnet," Skye whispered to him low with a little grin as she pulled him aside.

He gave her a look of pure betrayal. "When was the last time I was in trouble?"

"Do you want the list alphabetically or chronologically?" she teased.

"Yes," he countered. "In descending order of the amount of trouble achieved."

"Well now it's a toss up on if I should start with the royals, Fury, or the whole Selene thing," she said.

"Alright, darlin', first off — Fury ain't trouble," he said, dismissing that one off the top. "The royals … were a test of wills. And you'll have to be more specific on which Selene thing, because one of those … is not exclusively my problem."

"But all of those you got in trouble for. You didn't specify what _kind_ ," she pointed out.

"Fine. Something that's my fault," he specified.

She thought it over for a moment and then grinned to herself before she started poking him in the chest. "Alright. Most recent. Last time you got in trouble ... was when _you_ nearly gave Coulson a heart attack kissing me."

"Now wait just a damn minute," Logan argued with a scowl. " _You_ started that. That's on you."

"Mm. Debatable," she teased.

"I maintain my innocence," he said with his chin tipped up. "Troublemaker."

"And yet you somehow like me anyway. Bad taste. Kissing an ex-terrorist."

"Kissed a lot worse," he deadpanned.

"Yeah, but you _wanted_ to kiss the SHIELD agent with a record," she said with a crooked grin. "The others don't count."

"The rest of 'em really are pretty damn awful."

"Exactly." She grinned at him. "Bad taste."

"You gonna let me wash up before you start with the harassment routine?"

"Not a chance," she said without hesitation before she grabbed him by the arm to pull him over into a kiss before May and Coulson had entirely cleared the room.


	15. Chain of Command

**Chapter 15: Chain of Command**

* * *

 _November 6_

 _Undisclosed Location_

* * *

Essex had not been pleased at first with the forced change in location. It was inconvenient, and it took him several weeks to send the lackeys Hydra had provided him with after all the equipment that he needed to replace in order to resume his work. He didn't normally tolerate such interruptions, and he was sure to mutter about it — loudly — as he worked, so that anyone who was within ten feet of Essex was aware of just how much he was annoyed with both Charles Xavier and Henry McCoy.

But now that he had everything in place, he had to admit that he was pleased with the privacy, with the lack of interruptions, with the fact that he wasn't required to report his every little step to Fury or his ridiculous agents. Here, he was free to continue his studies the way _he_ wanted to, and with more backing than Fury had ever given him — and without hiding his deeper experiments and curiosities.

He was glad for his foresight in reading the mood of SHIELD ahead of the disaster that sent him out of that operation. He'd seen what would happen and had therefore sent his subjects ahead to the laboratories Sarkissian had been good enough to prepare for him. He had expected to arrive later of his own accord and with continued access to Tahiti to continue his observations there in addition to his own experiments, but his research was not completely unsalvageable, at least.

It was unfortunate that SHIELD had realized at least some of what he had been doing — at least the record trail that had been impossible to cover _fully_. But the simple truth of it was that they had no idea he had been able to reproduce the entire Tahiti process successfully, on his own, under their very noses.

The move had not come at an ideal time, however. He had finished his work, but in order to move from SHIELD's base to Hydra, he had to postpone the final checks oh his last subject. Everything he could check physically looked exactly as he expected it to look, but for ease in moving to the new lab, he'd needed to keep the boy under sedation. If there were any issues once he was conscious after the process was complete, Essex simply wouldn't have been equipped to deal with them until he was set up again, and away from the Tahiti labs, he didn't want to take that chance.

After all, he still had no idea what had caused the St. Croix girl to react the way she did to the revival process. At least the other 'failures' he had reported to SHIELD were understandable, part of his own research. But here, he didn't want another failure — so it was time to assess the boy's mental state, if only to be sure Essex had the process right and that the extended sedation hadn't negatively affected him.

Because of the heavy sedation, it took slightly longer for the boy to come around, and Essex was sure to keep an eye on the monitoring equipment as he did so, smirking to himself when the boy did finally open his eyes and take in his surroundings. His heart rate and breathing rate spiked when he tried to move and hit the restraints instead, and after he had tested the straps to find he couldn't budge them, the boy settled into a wide-eyed vigil, simply watching the door, the monitors showing signs of the internal panic even if his external struggling had stopped.

Essex came in to watch up close, and the moment he entered, the Summers boy locked his gaze to Essex's movements. Essex walked toward him and started to check the leads and monitors, smirking slightly when the boy flinched back away from his hand, clearly a reactionary response.

He didn't look right at the young man as he laid down exactly what his new station in life was to be. "Do you have any idea how much work went into bringing you back?" Essex asked as he finally turned toward him. "You should be grateful that you are even here."

When the young Mr. Summers did nothing but glare in response, Essex simply got right down to the point. "I've removed the tracker in your arm — but not the poison capsules. You will do as you're told, when you are told. This is not up for discussion. Ever. If you try to resist, to fight me — to be anything but obedient in every way — I'll make sure you learn the true meaning of pain." Essex paused to be sure that his message was sinking in, the rapid low beeping proof that the boy was understanding every word. "No one knows you are here but me. No one will be looking for you. You _will_ do as you're told, am I clear?"

When there was nothing but that same locked jaw glare in response, Essex smiled cruelly. "An answer on your part would be prudent."

"You just put in all that effort bringing me back," came the response at last. "You said yourself it was hard work — you're not going to waste it killing me again."

Essex smiled wider. "Then I suppose we'll have to teach you the hard way," he replied before he reached over to a shelf above the boy's head to retrieve a readied syringe that he plunged into his arm and stepped back. "Think about your answer."

As the doctor stepped back, the boy in the bed began to feel the effects of the drug like fire through his veins that only burned more as time went on. When he started to writhe, Essex smiled contentedly and simply left him there to 'think" about his choices.

* * *

 _November 11_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kurt was usually one of the first up in the morning — after the _really_ early risers like Steve or Tony, though he wasn't sure if Tony was an early riser or if he just stayed up late nights and crashed at some point when no one saw him; it was hard to tell. So he was grinning when he got down to the cafeteria and grabbed a few things to eat in peace, already in a good mood to start off his birthday.

He'd barely sat down at the table though before Kitty came bursting into the room, found Kurt, and ran over to pull him to his feet for a big hug. "Happy birthday, Kurt!" she beamed at him, pushing a book-shaped package into his hands.

"And a good morning to you, _katzchen_ ," he said with a smile to match hers as he gently unwrapped the package to find _The Three Musketeers_ and broke into an even wider grin as he glanced back at his best friend and wrapped her up tightly in a hug.

"You didn't think I was just going to let the day pass without doing something about it?" Kitty asked almost accusingly.

"Of course not — you need the excuse for ice cream," he teased her right back, spinning her around.

"Wade's already got cupcakes lined up for tonight," Kitty admitted.

"Of course he does," Kurt said with a little grin. "Thank you, Kitty — really."

She beamed at him and hugged him again. "I'm just mad I missed your sweet sixteen," she told him honestly.

He waved his hand. "You didn't miss much."

"Uh, no — Peter told me about the double party," Kitty said, her hands on her hips.

He chuckled at that. "Oh, he did?"

"I guess I'm just going to have to catch you on your next big birthday… eighteen… or maybe twenty-one…" She grinned at him. "We'll have a big pirate party."

His expression lit up with laughter at the idea. "You won't get any arguments here."

"Like it would stop me if you did," she teased.

The two friends grinned at each other, trading ideas for the big pirate party — since, clearly, they couldn't do something like that holed up underground in the Tahiti Wing — as a few others trickled in. Those that knew it was Kurt's birthday were sure to wish him well, and Peter made it a point to apologize — his present wasn't ready yet, but if he would stop by the simulation room around, oh, six that night, Peter was sure he'd perfected an ocean simulation that would let Kurt sail around the waters of the Caribbean beyond Four. He just had to get the waves to work with him the way he wanted them to.

Kate was almost always one of the last to arrive for breakfast — she was _not_ a morning person in the least — but Kurt grinned at her when she sat down beside him with her coffee in hand. She was clearly still waking up, but she made it a point to kiss his cheek and wish him happy birthday all the same.

"Oh, here," she said after she took a long drink of coffee, handing him a box that was about the same size as the one Kitty had given him before.

It was even clearer that the two of them had worked together on their gifts when both girls shared grins when Kurt took the little box from her hands.

"Should I be worried that you two are teaming up?" he teased lightly. "Or proud that my favorite girls are getting along so beautifully even when I'm not around to mediate?"

"Like that would stop us," Kate countered, and Kitty just giggled her agreement.

Kurt shook his head at the two of them and smiled to himself as he opened the box — and then blinked in surprise when he saw that Kate had also given him a copy of _The Three Musketeers_ , though this copy was in German.

He glanced up at Kate to see that she was simply _beaming_ and slightly bouncing in place. "A little kitty told me it was your favorite book," she said, though she hardly had the words out before he'd pulled her into a deep kiss — with Kitty grinning beside them both at how well her and Kate's plan had gone.

When the kiss broke, Kate scooted a little closer to Kurt so she could wrap one hand in his and rest the other on the book she'd given him. "So, I was thinking ... I've never read this book," she started to say, and he grinned even more widely, if that was possible.

"You'll love it," he promised her and then stole another kiss.

"Think you could read it to me?" she asked with a crooked little grin. "I know a comfortable couch in the living areas that I got Billy and Cassie to clear out for us ... whole room's ours until Wade's obligatory birthday cupcake bash tonight."

He smiled at her gently and picked her hand up from where it was resting on the book to bring it to his lips. "That sounds perfect," he agreed, his gaze never leaving her face while she kept grinning wider and wider.

Kitty cleared her throat and made a show of sliding out of her seat. "Well, I'm clearly not needed. See you both later," she called over her shoulder as she headed over to go sit with Kamala and Clara.

Kate grinned after Kitty and tipped her head in goodbye — since Kurt had both of her hands and neither of them could exactly wave at her — before she turned back to Kurt and stole a longer kiss. "Happy birthday, my favorite little Elf."

"Kate," he laughed, "you know I'm taller than you now—"

"Always gonna be my little Elf. Sorry; I don't make the rules," she told him before she leaned forward and kissed him deeply to stop any further argument.

* * *

 _November 15_

 _Northernmost Reaches of District Nine_

* * *

It had taken Clara a very long time before she finally decided to at least play along with the Tahiti program's people in charge. Frankly, she didn't want to fight for them — not when it was so clear to her that there was no intention to let these kids be anything but soldiers with no choice outside of that.

But, after a lot of pushing, she was finally sure that Kamala was in good hands. Miles, although crushing on Kamala to the point of near non-verbal responses, was making a point to keep her company, and she was eating it up.

So, Clara had finally put some effort into training — at least enough to show that she could fight and be sneaky, which was apparently what they were looking for. The sneaky. As a result — with less than two weeks of training — the powers that be had seen it acceptable to send her out to scout and place some surveillance in an area that they'd suspected was harboring Hydra forces deep in the woods of the northern section of District Nine.

She'd slipped through the snowy landscape, setting the devices that she'd been given to scatter — the whole time clad in white from head to toe and hiding in the smallest of shadows in the dark snowbanks.

So far, she'd yet to have any trouble, and her comm was alive with encouraging remarks from the SO in charge of the mission. But if she was being honest, it irritated her.

She thought carefully about the lay of the land, and how far out from her transport she was when she'd placed the last device. When she stood up and glanced to the north, she stilled completely.

Steve was in her ear, telling her to come on back when she was ready, and that — the _phrasing_ — was exactly what she needed to hear to prompt her to move.

She looked toward where the transport was stashed and carefully pulled her mask off and then took the comm and earpiece off, only to drop it to the ground. She stared at it for a moment and started to walk away at a quick pace. Before she knew it, she was at a dead run, rushing away from SHIELD as quickly as she could, her mouth set in a frown and a determined expression on her face.

She couldn't do it. She couldn't spy on innocent people or do the bidding of the director in charge — it was more than she could tolerate. Her family thought she was dead, and though she could see how that belief kept them safe, she couldn't stay in SHIELD's walls one moment longer. And with that thought fresh in her mind, she ran that much harder.

* * *

"What do you mean, she's _gone_?" Kamala demanded. Steve had come back from the mission to Nine hours after he was supposed to — and without Clara. He'd already been grilled by Coulson, and Hill on what had happened that had them losing an operative. But Kamala wasn't about to let him get past her, no matter how tired he was.

"She just ... she ditched. I found the comm, I followed her trail as far as I could ... but she's …. She _left._ " Steve looked sick at having lost someone, even if he'd only come back from Nine after he'd been ordered to — with reinforcements landing to take over the search.

"She wouldn't just _leave_ ," Kamala said, wide-eyed and in complete disbelief. "She wouldn't — she doesn't leave people. She wouldn't leave me!" Her hands were clenched in fists at her sides, and her voice had the slightest shake to it. "You're wrong. She — she might be in trouble!"

"There was no sign of any kind of trouble," Steve said. "Her comm was on the ground next to her hood. There were no other footprints .."

"Why would she do that, though?" Kamala asked quietly, starting to lose some of her steam simply because she was running out of arguments. "Why… she doesn't _leave_ people, Steve."

"I don't know," he told her, and honestly distressed himself. Particularly since it was a mission _he_ was in charge of. "I swear ... I looked … I did everything …"

Kamala's eyes were wide as she watched Steve's clear discomfort at the fact that he was upset about losing Clara, and she found that she couldn't really get mad at him. But that just meant that she had nowhere for all the frustration to go except to cry — and that's what happened as the tears started up, and she fell into Steve's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kamala," Steve said as he hugged her. "I've already talked to Coulson. We're going to look for her with some of Tony's sensors."

"And then what?" Kamala sniffed. "If she doesn't want to stay…"

"We'll … we'll just have to figure it out once we find her and get her back," he said, totally unsure of the answer.

Kamala buried her face in Steve's shoulder for a while longer and simply cried for a good, long time. First, the Games took her away from her family — and then Scott, _and now_ Clara…. She sniffed loudly and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I just want to go home," she whispered to Steve, very quietly.

He just hugged her that much tighter. "I know," he said softly. "I do too."

* * *

 _November 30_

 _Fury's Office_

* * *

The debriefing had gone as well as the mission had — seamless and smooth, no problems to be had — and the little team in black was just ready to call it a day. Smooth as it had been, they were all worn out.

So no one was more shocked than Fury when, as he dismissed them, Creed stood up and simply took a pot shot at Logan, sucker punching him hard in the side of the head before landing a couple more quick, heavy hits.

The retribution was swift — but not quite enough — and the fist fight that broke out really was only ever going to end one way when Logan hit the ground, out cold, freshly battered and bleeding.

The other two team members quickly restrained Creed and dragged him away from Logan as Fury swore and reached for the comm to call in a medic.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Fury shouted at Creed before they could get him out of the room.

"Just couldn't let the day pass," Victor said with a self-satisfied smirk before Maverick dragged him out and Fury waited for his medic to arrive.

When Simmons did show, she took in the unconscious victor in Fury's office and immediately set to work assessing him. "What happened?" she asked, mostly so she could know what kind of injuries she would need to look for — the Hydra weapons they had found could leave some nasty marks, as Coulson's team had discovered lately.

"Victor Creed got a little feisty," Fury replied with his arms crossed. "He attacked him out of the blue."

Simmons tsked to herself and shook her head. "I'd like to get him back to the lab, to check for a concussion," she said as she continued to assess the unconscious young man.

"Let me know how it turns out," Fury told her.

Simmons nodded and gently brought Logan around, checking both of his eyes before she would even consider letting him get to his feet, and even taking advantage of some of the training he'd been teaching her to keep him down. "I am quite sure you have a concussion," she told him. "I need to check to see how serious it is."

"I'm fine," he argued, frowning deeper when his attempt to push her back met resistance. "I just need to get to bed."

"Excuse me, do _you_ have a PhD?" she shot back, then answered her own question. "No, no you do not."

Logan closed his eyes and leaned his head back for a moment. "I don't think you're moving me without my help," he said, though she had finally let him up, and he was already working his way to his feet.

"I can ask for help moving you," she said, almost serious.

"No ... let's make it quick if I have to go," he grumbled, then started to stagger toward the door.

"Oh, no — wait for me," Simmons said quickly as she packed herself up and rushed over to support him, doing her level best to keep him from sliding into any more walls as they headed to the lab.

"You don't have to do this," Logan said. "I'm just a little punch drunk."

"You have at _least_ a mild concussion from where he hit you, and don't tell me you don't — I checked," she said in a very business-like tone.

"If I go to my room, you're going to follow me, aren't you?" he asked.

"You catch on quickly," she said brightly. "Come on, let Dr. Simmons take a look at that nasty bump on your head," she teased as they arrived.

Fitz looked up from the project he had been working on in the opposite corner of the lab and grinned when he saw Simmons — though the grin quickly shifted to a frown when he saw the way the two of them were all but wrapped up as Simmons tried to support Logan.

"Wh- what in the world is — what's going on?" he spluttered.

"Concussion," Simmons explained simply, jerking her head to indicate that she would like a little help. "Can you help me get him to the scan—"

"Oh, yeah," Fitz agreed quickly, rushing over to help, though he didn't seem to really relax until after Simmons was out from under Logan and Logan was in the CT scanner.

"So, what happened?" Fitz asked as Simmons got the scan started up.

"Unsurprisingly, Victor Creed is a giant jerk," Simmons huffed.

"Oh, okay," Fitz nodded, though he was frowning hard. "Any particular reason — or just the usual?"

"I don't actually know," Simmons admitted, though she was distracted from any further conversation when Logan fell asleep in the scanner, and she rushed over to where he was, the concern etched all over her face as she pulled him out of the machine. It took her a bit to rouse him, and when she did, she looked furious. "Don't _do_ that."

"What did I do?" he asked, blinking hard and trying to get her to get her hands off.

"Don't _fall asleep_ in the middle of my scan," she said, though her tone was less angry than it was concerned as she checked him over.

"I wasn't tryin' to," he grumbled.

"Well, just… just try to stay awake," she said, shaking her head at him as she went back to check the scans.

She kept fussing over him for a while longer, clearly concerned, before the last junior member of Coulson's team showed up — though Skye didn't seem nearly as surprised to find Logan in medical as the other two were. "What, could you just not wait to see Simmons again? Stepping out on me?" she teased.

"Vic mus' be tryin' to set us up," Logan slurred.

Skye narrowed her eyes at that. "Creed?" she said, one hand on her hip. "Didn't he pull this same crap last year?"

"He pulls 'is every time he gets _bored_ ," he replied.

"Yeah, true," Skye had to agree as she sat down beside him and watched him with obvious concern. "He okay?" she asked — more to Simmons than Logan, since he was slurring his words.

"He has a very nasty concussion," Simmons told her with a frown.

Skye frowned deeper for a moment before she reached out to grab Logan's hand and shake her head at him. "Well fine. The crummy movie night I had planned will just have to wait," she told him.

"What're you talkin' about?" he asked with a frown.

"Well, it's not like we can go _out_ anywhere for your birthday. That's a big fat no-no," she pointed out as if it should have been obvious. "So I was thinking a night in…"

"Don't think we'd be doin' anythin' anyhow," he replied. "Just another day."

"Thus the crummy movie night," she said with a little smirk as she patted his hand.

"Unless it's fer you, ain't worth the time," he told her. "I don't mark it."

"Then don't think of it like a birthday — think of it like an excuse to get together and watch bad movies and share blankets."

"Don't need an excuse for that," he said as he closed his eyes again.

"Good to know," she said, though she glanced at a worried-looking Simmons and squeezed his hand, tapping his arm with her other hand. "Hey — you're freaking out Fitzsimmons," she said.

"They'll get over it," he said.

She smirked at that and tipped her head Simmons' way. "Don't worry. I'll watch out for him," she promised. The smirk turned into something a bit more playful as she added, "Why don't you and Fitz go take over the movie setup I had? Already popped the popcorn and got the movies picked out."

"Oh, we really shouldn't—"

"It was _your_ idea," Fitz chimed in.

"And we really do have work to get done," Simmons added.

"Your shitty excuses're puttin' me to sleep," Logan said dryly.

"You heard him," Skye said with a triumphant grin. "Better hurry. For your patient's sake."

Simmons gaped at her. "You can't be—"

"You're a doctor, Jemma. Gotta put the patient first," Skye insisted in a tone that indicated she was completely and totally serious.

"Well … well, you _can't_ stay here in the lab," Simmons said with a shake of her head. "Not .. without someone to help if there's a problem."

"I know where you are. The living room's not too far from here anyway, so I can come get you if I need you," Skye said.

"I'm goin' to bed," Logan argued. "Go ... give Fitz some mouth to mouth."

Simmons stared at Logan openly, her jaw slightly dropped, before she started to shake her head. "You can't… I don't…"

"He's dyin'. Slow an' painful," Logan said, though Simmons missed the ghost of a smirk. "Just look at him."

Simmons glanced over at Fitz, who was, in fact, turning a very peculiar shade of red, but the only thing that accomplished was to turn her that exact same shade. "No, no he's not…" Simmons said, fumbling for the words.

"If you don't go, I'm going to get May in here, and she _will_ help me carry you in," Skye threatened, one finger leveled at the two of them.

"Don't worry; if by some horrible calamity, I actually get some rest after gettin' my ass handed to me, I'm sure you'll find a way to make tomorrow more miserable with a whole pack of needles and blood draws," Logan said easily as he sat upright, obviously putting forward some serious effort to get her to move on.

That got Simmons to roll her eyes at him and shake her head. "I'm not trying to drain you of all the blood in your body," she argued in a tone that said she'd already had to make that same promise a dozen times.

"An' I'm not tryin' to do anything but get you two to quit tap dancin' around each other."

"We're not—" Fitz said.

"That isn't—" Simmons started at the same time.

"Don't lie to me," Logan said seriously, which got both of them to quiet down quickly. "I'm in no mood."

With both scientists silenced, Skye grinned and shooed them toward the door. "I'll get him to bed, I promise. The first movie's already queued up. Just _go_ ," she said, and she couldn't help but smirk to herself as both of them finally scooted out of the lab, not quite able to look at each other. She shook her head and glanced at Logan. "They are so, _so_ much work."

"At least they quit bein' stupid for two seconds," he said before he cracked one eye open. "And I don't need a babysitter."

"Simmons looked worried enough that I figured I should stay," Skye said with a shrug. "Not for you — for her," she teased.

"Uh huh," he said, smirking her way. "That's the official line."

"Of course," she said, matching his smirk. "Gotta take care of my team, you know."

"Another official line," Logan chuckled."Keep it up, and you'll be jockeyin' for director."

She leaned forward with a twinkle in her eyes. "I think that's what Coulson wants, you know. Turn me into a proper SHIELD agent."

"Well," he said gesturing to himself. "You're starting off on the wrong foot associating with the riff-raff."

"I dunno; Fury seems to like you okay," she teased.

"Fury likes to torture kids for kicks," he deadpanned as he stood up and started to head for the door — though he was certainly leaning to the left hard.

"Then I'm so not qualified to be director," she decided, rushing after him to help him stay upright.

"As it stands now, yeah," he agreed. "But you got a little time to work up to whatever the new qualifications are." They started to head toward the dormitory area, with Logan holding one arm out to keep his balance. "So. Your room or mine? I need to lay down somewhere more comfortable than the lab."

"Yours, if you can make it," Skye teased. "Mine's closer, but… it's kind of a mess."

"Is there room for me in there?"

"Probably," she said. "It's just … laundry."

"Mine then," he said with a nod. "You don't have to stick around if you don't want to, either."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Room for me in there?" she asked with a crooked smile.

"I know how to pick up," he pointed out. "So, yeah. Plenty."

"Then I think I'll stick around," she said. "You know. To keep an eye on you. For Simmons."

"I don't _ever_ need to hear the official line," Logan said. "If you wanna stay for your own reasons, fine. If you're babysitting, find somethin' else to do."

"Less than two months to go, and then I swear I'll stop giving the official lines to anyone," she promised, one hand on her heart.

"If you're not tired of the novelty by then."

She rolled her eyes again and responded by kissing him. "Yeah, we'll see," she said, not meaning it at all.

When they got there, he collapsed onto the bed — without bothering to even take off his boots. "When I go to sleep, are you going to narc me out?"

"Only if you don't get back up again in the morning," she swore.

"Well, if I don't get back up, you can go ahead and narc," he said. "But I've had worse."

"Not all that comforting," she said as she pulled off her shoes and stuffed her socks in them.

"You gonna beat me down too?" he asked. "Still waiting for the full explanation there."

"On what, my inability to sleep without punching … anything?" she laughed.

"You said you were kicking yourself in your sleep," he chuckled. "I still wanna see that."

"Well, keep your eyes open for a little bit. You'll probably see it after I fall asleep," she said, climbing up next to him to set her jacket on the edge of the bed.

"Is that your incentive to stay awake?"

"You're the one who wants the free show," she teased.

"Not fair. Can't do it. I need better incentive to not crash, and I'm not about to pay you for a show," he teased, wondering if she'd get mad. "Sleeping kickline …."

She glared at him and reached over to hit him in the arm. "You're horrible. And you know you're horrible, which makes it worse."

"Yet, here you are." He stretched his arm out to offer her a place to curl up next to him.

She glared at him for a moment longer, then couldn't hold it anymore as she climbed in next to him and leaned in to kiss him, deciding that was better than letting him push her buttons.

He pulled her a little closer and returned the gesture. "Relax. I don't plan on dyin' on you tonight."

"Good, because that would be incredibly rude of you," she mumbled back. "And horrible to wake up to."

"That would mean you planned on goin' to sleep here."

"Yep," she said with a little grin. "Unless you plan on kicking me out. And missing the sleeping kickline."

"I don't think I'm in any position to kick you out, future SHIELD director."

"Sounds like you're just going to have to get used to letting me have my way, then," she shot back, grinning as she stole another long kiss.

"Like I let anyone get their way based on title."

She laughed and snuggled in a bit deeper. "Good thing you're not just interested in me for my future job prospects, or that would be a real problem," she teased.

"If it was up to me, that job won't even exist by the time you'd qualify for it."

"Then stop calling me the future SHIELD director," she shot back.

"But you _like it,"_ he laughed. "You know you do."

She bit her lip as she thought it over. "It _does_ sound nice," she had to admit.

"You just wanna boss everyone around. Director's first order of business — lock Fitzsimmons in a closet."

"It'd be good for them. I'd be a magnanimous director," she laughed outright.

He turned a bit to curl up a little closer with a smirk. "Keep that attitude. Punishments dealt out in the kissing closet," he muttered, but he was already looking like he was half asleep.

"And a total ban on stupid secrets," she agreed, snuggling in.

"I'd go runnin' out guns ablazin' with my mask off now, but …"

"Yeah, wait until you get the director who deals out punishments in the kissing closet before you do that," she advised.

"I'll keep that under advisement," he promised. "But no guarantees. I'm getting tired of this crap."

"Yeah," she said quietly, watching him lose his battle with sleep. "Me too."


	16. The Fall of a Titan

**Chapter 16: "The Back Stretch"**

* * *

 _December 7_

 _Nick Fury's Office_

* * *

Fury watched the young victor in front of him carefully and did something he rarely did for his operatives. He poured him a measure of scotch — what was left of it — and set the glass in front of the young man.

Peter Quill glanced at the scotch with a measured suspicion before he took it and drank the whole thing in one go. "Thanks," he rasped as he set the glass back down on the desk in front of him, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand that seemed more steady with the drink than it had without it.

Fury simply left the bottle within Quill's reach and took a seat next to him, more than happy to let him decide when he was ready to talk. It was obvious the past few months hadn't been kind to him, from the dark circles under his eyes and the fact that he'd lost somewhere between fifteen and twenty pounds, though some of that was hidden by the heavy black he was wearing.

Quill poured himself another measure and stared down at the scotch for a while before he took in a breath. "The royals are getting antsy," he said in a careful, measured tone. "Ronan's paranoia is up, not to mention Thanos'. They don't know anything, but I think they're sensing the mood."

"They'd have to be clueless not to," Fury said with a nod.

"They're looking in the wrong places. Petty rebels who don't know anything," Quill said before he threw back the scotch and set the glass down again, his gaze on the red flecks of blood on his leather boots that he hadn't been able to get off with any amount of scrubbing. "They're looking for something to come from the districts, not from within the Capitol."

"That's good news at least," Fury replied. He watched Quill carefully for another long moment before he added, "We have a date. I don't think I can tell you what it is, but we have a date."

Quill's head came up, and his eyes were wide. "Just… just tell me it's soon," he rasped out.

"Sooner than I had planned," Fury replied.

"Good." Quill's shoulders relaxed as he leaned back into the chair for a moment, mulling it over. "You're going to have your hands full at the Victory Tour," he said after a good, long pause.

"Anything outside of the usual problems?"

"Expect a few more security personnel in the districts. Like I said, they're getting paranoid about them, especially the outer ones," Quill said before he paused. "And ... Nebula is taking an interest in Logan again."

Fury leaned forward a bit. "Why?"

Quill shrugged. "Part of it is a power play. Gamora won herself some seriously powerful friends when she… you know." He gestured at himself.

"And she's looking at the one more in demand," Fury said with a little scowl. "That oughta go over real well."

"Yeah, that's the other part of it. He pissed her off last time, and she's looking to even the score," Quill admitted. "Don't know what her plan is, but she and Ronan have been real close lately with ideas on how to piss him off."

"Any ideas on what that might be?" Fury asked. "Because you do know we have people watching everyone on Selene's list of leverage. The plan is to get them out."

Quill looked honestly relieved to hear it. "Sooner than later would be good. Those two … seemed like they figured he'd be more pissed if it wasn't _him_ they were screwing with."

"The idea right now is a coordinated strike to remove the leverage," Fury admitted. "And they're right on that side of things. Going after him wouldn't work. Who do they have in mind?"

"I don't know," Quill admitted. "A girl. That's all I know — they talk about 'her.'"

"That doesn't really tell me much," Fury replied. "But I'll see if there is any record of who they're talking about."

"Wish I had more for you, but they're real tight with their plans in that regard," Quill admitted as he started to pour himself another measure — the scotch was helping, clearly.

"How about you?" Fury asked.

"Don't worry, I haven't been bumped up to assistant in Ronan's playground yet," Quill said with a little scowl despite the attempt at humor. "But I can give you a few names of rebels I've… um. Seen."

"That would be good to know," Fury agreed. "And I've got a few amazing catches to do in a very public way to appease Thanos. He won't be happy with who they are, but it might pull back his focus away from the rebels."

"That would be smart," Quill said with a small nod. "They're getting more... " He trailed off and shook his head. "And Thanos will have plenty of Nova Corps around during the victory tour." At that, he actually smirked. "Gamora and Nebula have a bet on whether your newest victor will try to hit one of the royals."

"That doesn't sound like a bet they should take up — but I'll make sure the girl keeps her cool. If I have to drug her to do it."

"Good, because there's also plans in place if she does try anything," Quill told him honestly.

"And I'm sure Ronan is just waiting for it."

"He really, _really_ wants to get a victor in his torture chamber," Quill told him, and he looked a little pale. "If Gamora didn't threaten him about me…" He shifted in his seat. "So that's also part of why Nebula has her sights on Logan. If they can't goad the new girl, or convince their dad Creed's not worth the air he breathes…"

"Unfortunately, Creed has been promised to someone else, and Logan _can't_ get caught up too deeply in that mess." He fixed Quill with a look. "I'll explain why after we get you out."

"Yeah, don't tell me," Quill agreed.

The two of them shared a long stretch of silence before Fury finally had to break it. "Feel free to stay here for a while if you need it."

"Thanks," Quill said quietly. He glanced around the office and took in a deep breath. "Mind if I use your couch?" he asked.

" _Mi casa, tu casa."_

Quill nodded at that and polished off the last of the scotch. "Gotta be back tomorrow. Please. _Please_ make sure I don't sleep past that," he said, earnestly.

"You'll be up at a reasonable time."

"That's what you say," Quill grumbled. "I bet you get five hours a night."

"I can have Logan wake you up when he comes in for training," Fury offered.

"Thanks," Quill said, already standing to make the short trip to the couch, and it was a little concerning how quickly he immediately fell asleep once he was there.

* * *

 _December 8_

 _Triskellion, Coulson's office_

* * *

Logan had barely gotten done with his early morning training session and had been sure to wake Quill on his way through. He was sure to not startle him and even went so far as to offer him a cup of coffee before he slipped out into the gym to get to work. He knew the guy had been through the wringer, and he wanted to do what he could to make life easier — though the dramatic change in the former victor had Logan feeling a little growlier than usual.

But then Coulson came in not half an hour into his spar with Po to tell him he needed him in his office immediately. Po had, of course, simply given him a nod to go find out what was so pressing — with the promise that training would be here waiting when he returned.

So Logan followed Coulson out, though he was sure to grab a cup of coffee on his way through Fury's office, noting that Quill was long gone. He'd barely gotten to sit down with his coffee before Skye, bleary-eyed, joined the two of them by flopping down on the couch next to Logan.

"Why did you make me get up so early?" she asked in a yawn, and Logan took one look at her sleepy expression before he let out a sigh and pressed his mug into her hands without a word. She gave him a sloppy sort of smile and curled up against his side, drawing her feet under her and leaning on him as she took over on his coffee.

"This isn't something I wanted to wait on," Coulson said, looking far more serious than usual — even for him. He turned to Logan first with a deep frown. "You should know — Quill says Nebula is taking an interest again, specifically to try to rile you."

Logan raised an eyebrow and drew in a deep breath. "Noted."

"She _and_ Ronan," Coulson added.

"I figured the two of 'em were a package deal," Logan admitted.

"They do tend to move together," Coulson said. "Which is what concerns me. They both have an eye on you, and honestly, it's no secret that Ronan wants a victor in his… office."

"Torture chamber," Logan corrected. "No reason to dress it up."

Coulson's concerned expression only deepened for a moment before he took in a long, cleansing breath. "My concern isn't just for you on this. Those two know you can take whatever they throw at you," Coulson admitted frankly. "The word from Quill is that they're looking to use someone to get to you." He glanced toward Skye. "We don't know who, only that this person is a 'she'."

"It's _not_ me," Skye said quickly as she straightened up a bit, seeing both the concern on Coulson's face and the frown on Logan's. "The only camera record of us together is in Fury's gym or … or else I erased the rest of it." She glanced at both of them, suddenly much more awake and talking faster, gathering speed with her explanation. "You know I'm good, Coulson. I didn't leave a trace of anything that could be accessed publicly. The most they'd ever see is that time I tripped on the train, and that's only because I didn't get it erased before it hit the archives."

Logan looked even more thoughtful than usual and didn't offer up his opinion on the situation at all, instead listening to the two of them as he tried to figure out who else might be under the gun.

"Are you _sure_?" Coulson asked Skye, looking and sounding honestly upset. "Fury's gym, Fitzsimmons' lab — we have the camera record on lockdown there — but what about his room?"

"Seven," Logan added, perfectly evenly and sure to keep out any hint of what he was thinking or feeling from his voice.

Skye shook her head, her eyes wide. "No … we've been careful. _I've_ been careful. If they do look at Seven, they won't see… we were up in the mountain…"

"But you were _there_ ," Logan said. "And you shouldn't have been."

"You know the official line," she countered. "I was there because you ticked off some people and needed the rundown on how to behave."

"And you know no one has believed it."

"It's _not me_ ," Skye insisted. "I wasn't on the list I pulled from Nebula…"

"Double check it to be sure," Coulson said.

"I will," she swore. " _And_ I'll have it on your desk in the morning."

"Until then, when you can be 100% sure, you two probably should keep some distance," Coulson said — and to Skye's shock, Logan nodded in agreement.

"Except where we know the royals don't have camera feeds," Skye argued. "Unless you think they magically have access to Fury's gym, in which case, that sounds like a bigger problem."

From there, it was like watching a tennis match as Logan watched the conversation bounce back and forth between the two of them until they both seemed to turn to him for his opinion — which he was pretty sure didn't mean a damn thing, considering both of them had excellent points. "Don't look at me," he said, raising both hands. "I can see it both ways, and though generally my thoughts are to give the royals the finger ... I don't want to be the one to make that call for you," he said, turning to Skye.

"It's _not me_ ," Skye said, insistently. "And even if it was, screw them. We're going to be shooting at them in, like, a month anyway."

"And we have to get through the month before we can shoot them," Logan pointed out before he turned to Coulson. "How much of an interest are we talking about? We talking just screw with me when I happen to be there? Or is this one of those I have to go have dinner with Thanos things again?"

"I don't know," Coulson admitted. "I do know that the victors will all be expected to go back to their districts ahead of the tour, so if they do ask you to the palace, it will be soon. Otherwise…" He shook his head. "I wish I had more to tell you, but this is all Quill had for us."

Logan looked more uncomfortable with that — in large part because if it was soon, or even after they sent him back to Seven, there would be no prep before he had to go in. "I don't suppose I could just stab them?"

"Try and wait until the tour," Coulson said with a sigh. He glanced between the two of them before he added, "We'll work out some kind of system to alert us if you find out who it is they're looking at."

"I'll send you a message if I find out first," Skye said, bumping Logan's shoulder with a little smirk.

"How secure is that thing?" Logan asked with a deepening frown.

"Really? You want to know how secure _my_ algorithms are." She gave him a look. "They're top-notch."

"I want to know how secure your tablet is," he clarified. "Or am I a bad student for knowin' it's more than just algorithms?"

She grinned at him. "So you do pay attention to more than my good looks," she teased before she nodded. "The tablet's off-grid. And the app for messages is hidden so deep that unless someone physically picked up the tablet to check them, they wouldn't be able to see anything. At all." She brushed her hands off on her knees. "Took me almost a month to make that thing."

"Just to send a hello?" Logan asked with his eyebrow raised.

She turned a shade pinker. "Um. Yeah, actually."

Logan glanced at Coulson, looking for confirmation on that, before he shook his head. "Need a tie breaker."

"May," Coulson said with a little nod. "She got the same briefing I did, and you know Hill wouldn't take Skye's arguments into account."

Logan nodded and leaned back with a deep intake of breath. "Good idea."

Coulson had already pressed to comm to call for May, and it was almost like May had expected it as she showed up only a few minutes later, her arms crossed as she looked over the two of them.

Skye launched into an abbreviated version of her argument for why it was stupid to worry, but she hadn't gotten far at all before May held up a hand.

"I have a new lead on tracking down Ward," she told both Coulson and Skye. "Skye, you and I will be running that down for the next week at least."

"But—"

"We're not leaving until this afternoon, so get your connections set up. We'll be in the Capitol, so any looking you want to do, any records, get that done now," May told her.

Coulson nodded, even as Skye looked more and more betrayed. "And Logan, we'll put you on the next transport back to Seven."

"Yeah, probably a good idea," he agreed with a nod, though he didn't look too thrilled.

"You can't… this isn't _fair_ ," Skye spluttered.

"It's temporary," May said with a shrug. "Give it a few weeks, and more than likely at least one of the royals will be dead anyway."

Skye gaped at her. "But… my birthday… Christmas… New Year's…"

"We'll throw you a late party after the revolution," May suggested with a little smirk. "You'll survive."

Logan gave her a crooked little smile and squeezed her knee. "I'll make it up to you."

At that, Skye couldn't help but pause and grin his way. "I'll hold you to that."

"I'd like to see that," he countered. "I'm gonna have to deal with another fireside drinkin' session with Daddy Mac, head of the Hudson Home for the Homeless."

"That sounds so horrifying," she deadpanned. "All of those tiny kids in your army, all willing to play pranks on Mac and Heather…"

"He puts a throttle on the scotch," Logan told her. "And the kids pass out if you give them enough sugar."

"Yeah, see, _see_ what I'm missing, Coulson?" Skye said, gesturing to Logan.

"And yet you'll be alive and well for the next fireside drinking session," Coulson said serenely.

"I'm gearing up to leave by four this afternoon," May told her with a significant look. "So spend your time wisely."

"You're on a clock," Logan whispered her way.

"Apparently," she replied before she gave Coulson a look. "So can we go now?"

Coulson smirked the slightest bit. "Just be careful outside of Fury's restricted camera areas," he told them before he simply stood to leave with May.

Logan and Skye followed suit, standing quickly to go, but before they could leave, Coulson had to add one more bit. "Logan — go see Fitzsimmons before you disappear with Skye. They need to check you over before you head back to Seven, and it'll stagger your exit."

Logan nodded once and nosed down toward Fitzsimmons' lab without a word spoken.

* * *

 _Later that day_

* * *

Skye was in a foul mood, if she was being honest. All of her plans for the next few weeks had been totally wrecked, and instead of scoring some time curled up with her favorite teddy bear, she was in a surveillance van with May and a deep frown, staking out _Grant freakin' Ward,_ of all people.

"Are you sure he's even alive? Because I'm pretty sure I killed him," Skye grumbled. "And if I didn't, I'm _going to._ "

May smirked her way. "Atta girl."

Skye fixed her SO with a dry, dry look before she raised the binoculars back to her eyes and waited. And waited. And… waited.

"Really. I'm really. Really. Really sure I killed him," she muttered out at last.

"Then let's just hope my tip was wrong," May replied, unconcerned.

Skye narrowed her eyes and readjusted the way she was sitting — again — trying to get more comfortable. But just as she was getting settled back in, she noticed movement in the top floor window of the building she and May were supposed to be watching, and she let out a huge sigh as she set the binoculars back down and glared her way. "Okay. I hate it when you're right."

"You don't _always_ hate it when I'm right," May countered with a smirk, though she was taking a look for herself.

"No, I think I really do," Skye insisted. "Because even if you're right about certain things — which you are — you _drag me to surveillance_ instead of letting me have my way."

"There will be time for that later — and you know it," May replied, then tried to redirect Skye's attention to the task at hand. "See if you can tap into their communications."

Skye let out a long sigh and did just that, hacking into the network on her laptop as she let out a little hum, watching the lines of code. It took her a few minutes, while May watched the top window, but they finally broke through, and Skye turned up the volume so May could hear as well as someone on the other line was speaking.

"It would send a message," the voice said. "We're not going to be soft on anyone just because of their status under the old regime."

There was a soft chuckle, and then May and Skye glanced at each other when the next voice was Ward's. "That's not the only reason to kill them, but I guess if you want to work the PR angle…"

"The public doesn't need to know how dangerous the victors are outside of the fact that they've been willing pawns of the Capitol." The second voice paused. "And I don't need any of them using their popularity against us."

Ward chuckled again. "Right." There was a little pause, and Skye worked to intercept the information that he was receiving. "Is there an order to the names here?"

"I'm sure you'll understand why Dr. Essex would like Xavier and McCoy at the top, but I don't think they have quite the pull to do much of anything. The newest four or five though …"

"Got it." Ward paused. "Before or after the tour? It would be easier to get to them in the districts."

"If you can find a way to kill them before without arousing suspicion …."

"I'll see what I can do. Obviously, some of them will be off limits until after the cameras are off, but…" He paused. 'We'll see."

Skye glanced at May as they both heard the click at the end of the conversation. "I'm gonna shoot him again," she announced as she closed the laptop, ready to go. May wasn't far behind, and both of them rushed out of the van to scale the building.

May kicked in the window where they'd seen someone moving, but when they got inside — to their frustration — no one was there.

"It's a relay," Skye muttered, annoyed, when she saw the telltale setup on the desk in the corner. "He hasn't been here for a long time." She sat down at the desk to try and trace back the relay as May looked for any sign of where Ward had gone, both women looking increasingly frustrated as they worked.

When they both came up empty, Skye let out a bitter sort of noise and kicked the leg of the desk. "I can go back through the call record on my laptop, see if I can trace it back to the other guy, but I can't find the source point of the relay. It's masked, and it's been bounced around too many times to pin it down."

"He was trying to draw us out," May said, looking around the room with a glare until she found the small camera in the corner.

Skye frowned at the camera and then cut the feed. "Well, sucks for him. I'll see if I can trace back the data on this thing," she said, getting back down to work with her eyes narrowed and lips pursed. She was missing out on snuggles with Logan for this _creep_ , and he was _not_ going to just… get away with it.

May looked over her shoulder to watch Skye work. "How long before you know if you've got a lead on this?"

"It's not a complicated camera," Skye said out of the corner of her mouth. "I just need to…" She trailed off when she seemed to hit something, and the video playback monitor switched on. There was no visual, just audio.

"Long time, no see, girls," came Ward's voice from the cameras. "You're both looking nice."

"Kill the feed," May said through gritted teeth.

"No, I can use the data if he's live," Skye said, though she was also speaking through her teeth and had her eyes narrowed.

"I know you're good, Skye, but you're not that good," Ward said through the speakers. "Not going up against Hydra's tech division, but it's cute that you're trying so hard. You won't find me — but I'll come get you as soon as things lighten up around here."

"Why don't you just come here now — and I'll give you another four holes in your chest?" she shot back.

"Yeah, that's just not going to happen again," he told her with an obvious chuckle.

"Yeah, it'll just be two," she said. "I've got a better teacher this time around."

"Oh, I'm sure May's taught you all kinds of things," he said. "I know she taught me a few things."

"Screw this," Skye muttered as she simply cut the feed and then glanced up at May. "Crappy conversation anyway."

"Consider the source," May replied. "Come on, let's get what we have and clear out. We need to find out who's on his hit list."

"That much I can tell you," Skye said. "Any data he got, I'll get it."

"Can you use that to tap into his system too?" she asked. "Or do we need to go in after him and get it the hard way?"

"It depends on how good the Hydra tech division is… and how crappy the connection was, honestly. It's hard to hack bad software," she admitted.

"Well let's get you where you can get good and cozy and hit it hard."

Skye nodded as she moved to follow May out the window, though she couldn't help but say, "Would be cozier if someone hadn't sent my guy to another district."

"If I thought it would help you to find Ward quicker, I'd send you out there for a few days," May said, then smirked. "But I doubt you'd get anything done."

"You are a joykill," Skye grumbled, though the affection was obvious in her tone.

* * *

 _December 18_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Clint hadn't even changed out of his mission gear when he got to the training room, where Bobbi was wrapping things up with several of the newer kids. He'd been out with Nat for a few days - they were running more and more missions the closer they got to the victory tour - and he had been worried she might be gone before he got home. After all, the victors went home for the days before the tour _and_ Bobbi had been in Two playing crony to Viper every other week… it was hard to see her for more than a few snatched moments at a time, and he wanted to catch her before Christmas. Kurt had everyone celebrating the usually quietly hidden religious holiday, and Clint could definitely get behind the excuse to spoil his girl.

He waited until the girls cleared out of the room before he stood in the doorway to keep Bobbi from leaving, closing the door behind him with the heel of his foot before he rushed to her and picked her up in a spinning hug that became a long kiss halfway through.

"Glad I caught you," he told her when he had stopped spinning, though he hadn't moved to let her go otherwise. "I thought this year I might get you your Christmas present _before_ you go. Just for novelty's sake," he added, his eyes twinkling with teasing laughter before he stole another kiss and then reached into his quiver - which he was still wearing - to pull out the little cloth bag, carefully cushioned at the bottom away from Tony's trick arrows.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking a little bit more stressed than he was expecting. "Did you need something in particular?"

He stopped for a moment, looking her over. "No," he said, slowly. "You don't have to get anything, Bob. I know you've been busy… This is just… from me. To you."

"You have no idea how crazy …" she muttered, but dropped off when she saw the bag

He grinned sheepishly as he handed it to her. "Saw it and thought of you," he told her as she started to open it. "Thought… it matched your eyes … which… sounds really corny saying it out loud, actually, sorry," he added quickly as she pulled out the necklace, with a blue bird pendant with sapphire eyes.

"It's … it's beautiful," she said, a bit wide-eyed, though the shocked look on her face wasn't entirely due to his grand gesture. Considering the report she had to give to Fury when he got back from wherever he'd gone … "I don't know what to say."

"Yeah, me neither, it's fine," he said, though it was clear that wasn't entirely true as he took in a breath and rushed into an explanation. "If anyone asks, I figured, you could say it's a mockingbird. Only... it also works for… you know. Other birds." He grinned sheepishly. "But ... yeah. Thought of you when I saw it in One. And it's nearly Christmas…" He looked over her shocked expression and bit his lip. "It's too much, isn't it?"

But she just didn't have any response but to simply wrap her arms around his neck and kiss the sense out of him. When the kiss broke, both of them were smiling the tiniest bit, and the last thing he was expecting was for her to breathe out, "We need somewhere private to talk."

"I can break us into Coulson's office. Or if it's a different kind of privacy, the jet's parked in the usual spot," he said.

"I think … somewhere we know there are no cameras or microphones. Do you have something like that?"

He thought about it for a moment before he grinned and nodded, taking her by the hand. "Don't laugh," he told her as he led her down the hall, seeming to stop at a random spot near the corner before he glanced both ways and set to work unscrewing a vent cover. He'd clearly done this before, too, because the screws came out easily.

"Can you even fit in there?" she asked with an amused look.

"I'm surprisingly bendy," he said, shooting her an obvious smirk.

"You'll need to show me more later," she teased before she slipped into the ductwork ahead of him.

He climbed in behind her, still grinning as he pulled the cover back on and then directed her down a few turns until they hit somewhere a little wider, where it was comfortable enough that he could pull himself up to where she was and steal a quick kiss. "What do you think? Private enough?" he asked.

"I sure hope so," she said, clearly impressed with his choice of secret spots. "I need to explain to you some of what's happening. Because it's very possible that you won't see much of me after the revolution starts."

"Bob," he said with a teasing smile, "I haven't seen much of you _before_ the revolution starts."

"I know," she said, shaking her head. "But I mean it. It'll probably get worse." She took a breath. "So all that time I've been spending with Viper ... I'm trying to get into Hydra's good graces... and I think I have. They're staging for a power play; I just don't know when it's going to happen or who's at the top of the food chain."

He watched her quietly through her explanation with a little frown. "Alright. So you're infiltrating the bad guys."

"Deep infiltration," she clarified. "So I may have to put … a little more distance, because they have Essex on their side, and he knows things… and I do _not_ want to take a chance at them using you …"

At that, his expression shifted, though before it had fully formed, he leaned forward and kissed her again, a lot more carefully this time. "Yeah, love you too, Bob."

From there, though Bobbi had intended to try and put some space between them, the very last thing she had was space. But .. she did have a handsome hawk that loved her. "You're ridiculous," she said before she kissed him back, and the two of them simply tried not to make too much noise kissing in the ducts.

…...

When Bobbi was done picking the cobwebs off herself, she made her way to one of the larger briefing rooms, where she was set to meet with both Fury and Coulson about what she'd learned from Viper.

As soon as the door was closed behind her, she glanced Coulson's way. "Your team was right. Hydra is planning to kill the victors. Any of them who don't pledge their allegiance to Hydra once they come out of the shadows - or anyone they know they don't have a chance of turning."

"So who's _off_ the list?" Fury asked. "Skull, VIper … "

"Me," Bobbi said with just the slightest of smirks, still in a fairly good mood from her chat with Clint anyway.

"And I'm going to guess Osborn and Stane," he continued.

"As well as Masters - for now," Bobbi said. "Viper knows he'll side with whoever he thinks will come out on top, so she's not ready to throw him out just yet."

"Octavius will want to go to whoever will let him keep up his 'studies'."

She nodded her agreement on that point. "And Hydra's willing to fund him."

"Then I'll have to make sure the others are aware of the threat," Fury said with a nod. "Odin and Drax don't seem to have much to do with anyone right now, so I don't think they have much to concern themselves with. Boltagon won't side with them. I think he's still planning the pacifist route if he can."

"No, I don't think either Drax or Odin are on Hydra's radar, one way or another," Bobbi said. "But I can tell you that the younger victors like Rhodes and Chavez are high on the list. And Essex has a vendetta against Hank and Charles."

"I expected that much - at least as far as Hank and Charles," he admitted. "Lensherr has turned our way - had they figured that one out yet?"

"They're not sure on him," Bobbi admitted. "He's not marked for death, I can tell you that much. But they don't think he's going to come with them without incentive, either."

"The families are already slated to be taken at the same time that we make our attack on the Captiol," he promised.

She looked relieved at that as she let out a breath and then nodded. "You should know - not all of the victors are being written off. Viper told me that she believes Quill will side with whoever gets him out of the palace - which… depending on his mental state…"

"She may just be right about that - but we have our team ready," Fury assured her. "They've been memorizing the layout of the palace and the traps for a month already; they can do it blindfolded at this point if they need to."

"Good," Bobbi said, honestly relieved to hear it. She liked Peter Quill; he was fun to work with. "And Viper has taken a personal interest in Logan. Not to kill him… she wants him alive."

"Why?" Fury asked.

"I'm not sure," Bobbi admitted. "She doesn't talk about him quite the same way she talks about people like, well, AD Hill - who she wants to kill herself." She shook her head. "And it's not quite the way she talks about test subjects either. She's… _interested_. In a way I just can't place."

"That boy draws in crazy like nothing I've ever seen," Fury muttered to himself. "What does your gut tell you?"

"That whatever she wants to do with him, he does _not_ want to be part of it," Bobbi told him honestly. "It wouldn't be anything like what I'm doing. I doubt she'd give him as much… leeway as I have. She talks about him almost possessively."

"I'll try to warn him, but without more to give him, he likely won't listen," Fury said. "And considering that Nebula's got her own interest in screwing with him, I doubt Viper will do much to move the needle."

"I'll have more for you when Hydra comes out more in the open. And they will," Bobbi promised. "They're with us for the revolution itself - that much is still the case. But at some point…"

"It's gonna get ugly," Fury finished.

"And it's going to get public," she added. "But that will help me. The less secretive the organization, the easier it is to find what secrets they do have. Right now, _everything_ is blacklisted."

"Just try to keep your head down," Fury told her. "You still have that emergency call, don't you?"

Bobbi nodded. "I do. But I'm not planning on having to use it."

"Don't be too stubborn to use it if you need to," he advised. "Now, unless it's earth shattering, I don't want to see you anywhere near the Capitol until the tour. Get some rest."

She nodded at that and simply slipped out, already mentally bracing for what was to come.


	17. End of the Year

**Chapter 17: "End of The Year"**

* * *

 _December 25_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kamala was dragging her feet along the edge of the water in the pool and was enjoying the sensation as most of the other kids were swimming and playing with each other. As part of packing up the Tahiti facility, the pool would be drained the next day, so they had decided to have a huge pool party for Christmas.

Cassie, of course, had led the charge, since she was clearly the one who would miss the water the most, even if Coulson had promised that there would be a pool at the new place — complete with specs for a bar that Tony and Hank had designed together as part of Charles' physical therapy. Which was going well, even if he didn't get the chance to do much other than what the kids _insisted_ on when he was so busy with other responsibilities as well.

A few of the kids — the spiders: Gwen, Peter, and Miles — had started a game of Marco Polo near Kamala, and she grinned as she watched the rest of the kids joining in.

She didn't participate, instead watching the game as Peter wandered around the pool with his eyes tightly shut trying to find the others, but she was quiet enough that apparently Miles hadn't noticed her until he had nearly backed into her feet while he was keeping away from Peter.

"Oh, sor- Kamala!" Miles said, the pitch of his voice suddenly changing when he saw who it was that he'd backed into.

She grinned and waved at him with the tips of her fingers. "Hey, Miles."

"You can't be — it's cheating to be out of the pool," he told her seriously, as Peter let out a little "aha!" of triumph when he caught up to Kitty and tagged her 'it.'

"Oh, I'm not playing," Kamala told him.

"Why not?" he asked, genuinely curious as he put both hands on the edge of the pool and pushed himself up so he could get out of the water and drop down to sit next to her.

She shrugged. "I don't know," she said with a sigh. "Just don't feel like it today."

"Because it's Christmas?" Miles asked.

"I didn't really celebrate Christmas back home," she replied, shrugging one shoulder.

"Then what? You nervous about the Big Ginormous Thing next week? Because we're just on moving duty," Miles said, his eyes wide as he earnestly tried to cheer her up. "Unless a box falls over on you, I think you're fine."

She smiled at that and had to giggle. "No, I'm not worried about dropping boxes," she said. "I'm stronger than I look."

"Yeah, I know," Miles said, then seemed to realize that wasn't something he should know, so he shook his head and tried for a little smile. "Uh ... so, what is it? Don't like swimming?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not... " She let out a breath. "I don't know. It's just ... that was a lot of change all at once, and this place was _just_ starting to feel like…"

He watched her for a second before he tipped his head to the side and shoved her with both hands into the water.

She popped back up almost immediately, eyes wide and disbelieving as she spluttered. "What was _that_ for?"

He grinned and jumped into the water beside her. "Come play Marco Polo. Worry about moving later," he told her before he started to swim off to join the others, and she was left shaking her head at him.

But, seeing as she was in the water anyway… she swam out to join the group.

* * *

 _District Seven_

* * *

Logan hadn't had much time before he'd been shipped out of the Capitol, but he did spare the time to get in touch with Jubilee and Noh for a request. They had shaken their heads at his question, mostly appalled that he'd wanted something so plain….but they didn't ask much on the why after he'd told them that it was a favor to him for the kids. So when the boxes arrived a few days before Christmas, he let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that he'd wanted it to be a present — not really. It would just make it easier to explain to Mac and Heather that way.

The kids came in Christmas morning with the Hudsons, all smiles and good cheer — that only got more amped up when they realized that they had something to open beyond the little bit of candy and a few small toys that Heather and Mac had managed to pull together. Even if the Capitol didn't approve of Christmas or any celebrations that gave glory to anyone but Thanos — that hadn't stopped the districts from finding ways to celebrate anyway.

"Don't get too excited," Logan told them as they all got into their gifts. "Everyone more or less got the same things." He accented his statement by handing a bigger pair of boxes to Heather and Mac. "You too."

"You didn't have to—" Heather started to say, with a big smile, but Logan cut her off quickly.

"Don't get all gushy yet," he told her, though she was tickled all the same to find the pristine white jacket and full-cover pants and boots. Of course, Logan shouldn't have been surprised to see that Jubilee had made a point to be sure that the lines on both were a lot slimmer-looking than any one would have expected — though a little note tucked into the boxes explained to anyone that could read that it would keep them toasty warm down to -40.

"...waterproof, wind-proof … why the heavy duty specs?" Mac asked as he looked around to see that all of the kids had one too. "And why do they all match?"

"Figured you'd like that part," Logan said. "Make sure the Hudson Home for the Homeless all look the same. But if I were you, I'd tell 'em to turn 'em inside out for now. Don't want the sentinels thinkin' you're tryin' to hide in the snow."

Several of the boys in the group had done that already — and were thrilled with the camouflage that was the reverse of the snow-white. It wasn't long before all the kids were following suit and grinning over their new winter gear.

Heather, of course, gave Logan a little kiss on the cheek and made sure the kids remembered to thank him on her way to the kitchen — though he was quick to send them toward more candy from the Capitol after they'd managed to mob him.

The kids were playing games by the time Mac decided to try and grab a quiet word with Logan. "Come on — what's the story with the gear? It's not like just a coat, and if it was just coats, they'd be bright. I've _seen_ your stylist friend. She doesn't do subtle."

"They needed 'em," Logan defended with a little shrug.

"Yeah ... but these … they have a hidden hood with a face mask and hidden mittens … that's … those are features for hiding all exposed skin. That's not a simple 'out to play' thing. Whats up?" Mac had on his best concerned expression.

"Just tryin' to do somethin' nice, okay?" Logan said. "Besides, think of the fun they'll have in a snowball fight."

"You did _not_ commission full reversible camo and snow camo gear for us and all these kids for a snowball fight."

"Sure I did. You guys needed a chance against Elsie," he argued.

Mac gave him a look that made it obvious he wasn't buying it. "Logan, what's going on?"

"Just makin' sure the Hudson kids all match," Logan replied. "Just take it as a stupid gesture and shut up already."

"Logan—"

"Let it go, Mac. I'm serious. Just drop it," Logan said in a more stern tone than Mac had heard before. "Enjoy the day with _your kids_."

"You know that's probably not going to happen, right? I mean — just for one it's next to impossible to get the paperw-"

"It'll happen," Logan said, cutting him short. "Get used to it. Heather said so, right?"

"Yeah, Heather said so," Mac repeated with a small smirk, though before he could say anything further, a very small, white-coat-wearing attacker got hold of his leg and grinned up at him until Mac bent down to pick him up. When he did, Josh whispered something in Mac's ear that Mac nodded seriously at before he turned to Logan. "Josh says thanks for the coat. He likes it," Mac reported as the little boy smiled shyly.

"Good," Logan said with a little smirk. "I thought he might like lookin' like the rest of the family."

Josh smiled again at that and whispered into Mac's ear once more, and Mac nodded. "Yeah, that's right, bud, you do look like Heather already," he said, and Josh pulled on a particularly long blonde curl with a shy laugh.

"Why don't you go give her a hug?" Logan suggested. "Looks like she could use it."

Josh pulled on Mac's jacket so he could see over Mac's shoulder and then glanced at Logan, seeming to think about something hard, his whole face scrunched up. "She's looking for her friend," Josh whispered, so quietly that Logan almost missed it.

"Which one, kiddo?" Logan asked, not sure who it was the little fella meant.

"The pretty one," Josh said.

Logan frowned at that and turned to Mac in question. Mac let out a breath. "Heather was hoping you'd bring your _friend_ back from the Capitol," he said with a pointed sort of look.

"Oh," Logan said, nodding slowly. "Wasn't my call."

"She'll still blame you," Mac said, this time with a quiet smirk.

"Oh, sure. Of course she will," Logan agreed before he leaned back in his chair. "Who else could she blame?"

Mac shrugged, still smirking, though Josh climbed back down, apparently done with just sitting still, and ran off to go get some of the candy Logan had brought back without glancing back at either of them. "You know that kid doesn't talk to anybody," Mac told Logan once he was out of earshot.

"Seems to talk to you pretty good," Logan replied.

"Yeah — just me and sometimes Heather," Mac agreed. He paused and smirked. "Must be because you spoiled 'em with the candy and coats."

"Yep, that's it," he agreed. "Keepin' up the disgraceful family tradition of takin' care of people."

"Just glad you're getting along with the _whole_ family," Mac teased. "You know — since Heather has decided it's happening, no matter what the Capitol says."

"Yeah, well. Leaves me no choice in it, right?" He leaned forward again. "Old man don't like it too, so, I guess I'll just have to side with the Hudsons."

"He been giving you any more grief?" Mac asked with a frown.

"Not really, no," he replied. "Once or twice, I've heard how I was makin' the same mistakes his son did …"

"Well that just makes you _and_ his son better than him, doesn't it?" Mac said, arms crossed and frowning. "Proof positive."

"Startin' to think he just wants to bitch at someone."

"Getting on in age and he's run all the kids off his lawn," Mac smirked. "Gotta come all the way here just to yell at someone."

"Hell, no one's walked on that lawn since before I was a kid; who are you foolin?"

"Who's yelling?" Heather asked as she sat down between the two men to break into their conversation with a small smile. "Logan, what did you do?"

"Nothin' yet," Logan answered as he shifted over to face her better. "Your coat fit? Jubes had to guess on your size."

"It fits just fine — tell her thank you from me," Heather said.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it," he replied.

"Did Skye get one as well, or is this exclusively a Hudson gift?" Heather asked, though the smile had turned into something a little more mischievous.

Logan had to chuckle. "You are not subtle — and it's _just_ a Hudson thing."

"So the ones for the two of your are, what, green on the outside?" she teased him.

"I don't have one," he answered. "And if you turn yours inside out, it's green. Smart Aleck"

"Well, if I'd known, I would have gotten her something that matches… but…" Heather let out a sigh. "I guess I'll just have to wait until she _randomly_ appears again."

"I guess so," he agreed. "I don't know when I'll see her next any more'n you do. Hell. You might see her first."

Heather raised an eyebrow at that. "That is just… no way to run things," she said with a little sniff.

"What do you think I'm runnin', Mrs. Hudson?" Logan asked, frowning a bit in spite of the amused smirk.

"Oh, _nothing_ , I'm sure," she said airily before she tossed him a little wrapped box. "It doesn't exactly match the hunting hat I got Skye, but if I'd known there were _themes_ …"

"I'll be sure to coordinate better with you," Logan promised, though he shook his head as he opened the box and had to give her a little smile. "I could use a good huntin' knife," he said before he reached into his pocket to toss a quarter her way. "Can't have any superstitions goin' on."

She caught the quarter and pocketed it before she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Oh, don't worry. You're not getting rid of me," she told him.

"Yeah, and hopefully I won't wanna use it on you," he teased.

"In front of the kids? Really, Logan," she teased right back.

He chuckled at her and then moved to give her a quick kiss on the cheek in return. "Thanks, Heather."

"Merry Christmas," she said with a wide smile.

 **Note: This one's a bit shorter than normal, but that's because the next chapter… starts the Victory Tour!**


	18. The Victory of America

**Chapter 18: "The Victory of America"**

* * *

 _January 1_

 _District Twelve_

* * *

Noh-Varr had arrived a day early for the send-off to start America's tour, and he was fairly relieved he had decided to do that, since she wasn't even home when he arrived. Instead, her house was completely filled with the boys from her family interview.

"You here from the Capitol?" asked the dark-skinned young man who opened the door, and when Noh nodded, he just laughed. "Good luck."

That wasn't exactly the way Noh had hoped to start things out.

He'd waited for hours as the boys went about their usual business, going in and out of the house and chatting easily with each other. It was clear they had the run of the place. But when America still hadn't shown up by the end of the night, he was starting to get a little worried.

"She knows she's required to _be_ here for this, right?" Noh asked one of the boys, a dark-haired young man who seemed to be the least likely to go anywhere to escape his question — he'd been in the corner tinkering with some wires for most of the day.

"She'll be here," the young man replied.

"Where is she now?" Noh asked as he got to his feet, glancing out at the dark district. "I could—"

"She'll get in tomorrow morning," the young man said with a light shrug. "You're not going to find her if you go out there."

"Then, do you know where—"

"Nope." The young man didn't look up from his project as he shrugged lightly. "Nobody does."

Noh sighed out his breath and sat back down on the couch, tapping his fingers against his knee to the beat of the music in his left ear as he watched the door for any sign of his victor's return.

But the boys had been right — there was absolutely no sign of her until the morning the victory tour was supposed to start. And even then, she didn't come in the front door until it was nearly time for them to leave for the send-off. There was dirt on her face and leaves in her hair, and Noh just stood there looking completely and totally aghast.

"Long time no see," America said as she dropped her jacket over the edge of the couch on her way past Noh.

"Where are you—"

"Shower," she said. "Unless you think your _line_ can get the forest out without some good old=fashioned soap and water?"

Noh just stared at her. "We don't have much time," he told her.

"I'll be quick," she promised before she swept past him, and he heard the shower starting up above his head as he turned to the other boys in a silent question.

"Don't look at us," said the tall blonde who had been Billy's boyfriend — Noh remembered him from the footage at the Reaping. "We don't know where she goes either."

"Space, probably," said Billy's twin brother.

Noh shook his head, one eye on the clock the whole time until America finally reappeared from the bathroom, and he immediately ushered her into another room, where he had her outfit prepared and his bag open on the table.

"I thought you said we had to leave," America said with a little smirk, but Noh leveled his finger at her.

"I know what you are doing, and you're not getting out of this by running down the clock," he said with narrowed eyes. "I can work quickly enough."

Her smirk widened at that, but she did at least change into the red and blue outfit he'd brought, pausing to admire the fact that it hugged her legs but still kept her warm. "Not bad."

"Not bad," he repeated with a huff as he set to work on her eyebrows.

"So, seriously, is this from the new line?" she asked, unable to stop the grin when he stepped back a little to look over his work.

"Jubilee certainly has input on all my work," he replied, and she laughed at him outright for it.

"Nobody believes you two aren't—"

"America," Noh said in a tired tone. "It does _not_ matter what people believe. It matters how things appear to be. And the sooner you understand that, the easier things will be for you over the next two weeks."

She blinked at him in surprise for a moment before she shrugged. "Alright. That's your worldview."

He shook his head at her and started to argue, but she swept an arm toward the clock, knocking aside the lipstick he'd been holding. "We gotta go, Mr. Lee," she told him with a crooked smile.

"That's not—"

"Mmhmm." She jumped up out of the chair and, just to annoy him and reverse their roles, adjusted the edges of his collar for him. "Don't worry. I look great in the new Lee-Varr Line."

He shook his head at her and tossed her the lipstick case, which she caught and pocketed. "Do try to be on your best behavior. For both of our sakes," he told her earnestly.

"Me? Cause trouble?" America grinned at him brilliantly. "Noh, you don't know me at _all_."

Noh let out a long sigh as he followed after his young victor. If she was already in this kind of a mood, he was sure that the entire tour was only going to be exhausting.

As it turned out, they were only barely in time for the send-off, and Noh could already see the accusatory glares from the Capitol camera crews — blaming the stylist for taking too long, fretting over the victor.

Thankfully, there was no speech, no interview to do, which meant America more or less just waved at the cameras and pushed her way toward the train with a muttered "just get this over with" that Noh wasn't entirely sure was quiet enough not to be picked up by the mics.

He glanced to Ian and Black Bolt and was surprised to see that the old victor was smirking to himself, though Ian was, unsurprisingly, already starting to fret, running his hands through his hair. "Oooh, we are going to be in so much trouble if there's another tour like last year…" Ian muttered to himself.

Noh shook his head. "Somehow, I don't think silence is going to be the problem with this one," he said.

* * *

When the train stopped to pick up the new victor in Twelve, two of Coulson's agents slipped out very casually when the crowd's attention was squarely on their victor. They trekked through the snowy landscape of Twelve down back alleys and side streets all the way to the Victor's Village, where they knew they'd find America's crew.

The young men in the house had left the required sendoff as soon as America was gone and were already back home, though only three were indoors. Agents Fitz and Triplett hadn't seen the kid in the trees until the platinum-haired boy dropped out of the branches upside down.

"You don't belong here," he said in a sing-song voice.

"We kinda do, actually," Trip replied with a little smirk. "Can we talk inside?"

"Not my house, but sure, why not?" the kid said as he practically tumbled out of the tree, not quite graceful, but landing on his feet all the same. "You friends of Noh-Varr's? Work for the _line_?" he asked, both eyebrows raised high.

"The line?" he repeated back, looking a bit out of the loop. "I don't know about no line."

Tommy laughed and patted Trip on the shoulder. "It's okay. Some people are just dense. But they'll be glad to know there's _one_ person in Marvel who doesn't know."

Trip and Fitz shared a look as they followed Tommy into the house, but as soon as the door was closed, Fitz stuck his hand out by way of introduction. "Agent Leo Fitz," he said. "Of the science division .. most of the time."

"Tommy Shepherd. Of the… uh. Tree-Climbing and … I don't actually have a division," Tommy said, shaking his head as he failed to come up with just what it was he specialized in that _wouldn't_ get him in trouble with SHIELD.

"We're here to get you all out of Twelve — and away from the Captiol's ... er … everything."

"Wait, wait, what?" Tommy stared between the two of them, wide-eyed, as the other boys started to trickle in on hearing Tommy's confusion.

"You're on the short list to get pulled," Trip said. "Something big is about to go down, and seeing as you're friends with a friend of ours? You gotta get out before they come to use you for leverage."

"We leave tonight after dark," Fitz said with an excited grin.

"You mean something's finally gonna _change_ around here?" Tommy asked with a slowly growing grin.

Fitz started to nod enthusiastically, and Trip had an easy smirk on his face as he nodded. "Just a matter of keeping it quiet on our way out until the time is right."

"Don't worry — I'll make sure Tommy doesn't announce our leaving," promised a tall, blonde young man. "He would, too."

"We should just stick tight until we're ready to go," Fitz said. "Only... we have another stop on the way out too. How hard will it be to talk Kate Bishop's family into leaving?"

The boys glanced at each other, and it was Eli who spoke up with a frown. "Hard," he said.

"Her dad's tight with the Capitol," Tommy agreed, glaring. "Didn't you know?"

"What about her sister?" Trip asked. "I'm pretty sure the order was for one over the other — unless he insisted on tagging along."

"Oh, well…" Tommy shrugged. "Only met her in passing, but from what Kate said…" He glanced at the other boys, who were all frowning. "If you talk to her away from her dad, she's alright."

"And her husband?" Trip said, looking like he suddenly realized why he was on this assignment.

"He…" Eli glanced at Tommy. "He wants to impress his father-in-law, but he'll stick with Susan wherever she goes."

Trip nodded. "Then follow Fitz when the time comes, and I'll handle the little couple."

"Can't we help with the big whatever's going down too?" Tommy asked.

"If it comes down to it, I'm gonna just knock someone out and carry them," Trip admitted.

"See, now I _have_ to come. Can I knock out Derek Bishop? Pleeeeease?"

"Only if we have to. They all live together?"

"Yeah. Merchant's sector."

"Then he's not gonna have a choice. He's coming too," Trip decided.

Tommy grinned excitedly and pounded his fist into his opposite palm. "Yes. That means I'm gonna get to hit a jerk today."

The little group killed time, with Tommy getting more keyed up by the passing minute on the prospect of cold-cocking Kate's dad while Eli took the time to draw out a map of the town to show the two SHIELD agents what he thought the best way into the house was, even though it was clear that Trip already knew the route he was taking, the changing of the Sentinels, and the order on how to handle the whole process.

"You've got your night-night pistol, right?" Fitz asked, nervously running his hand over the grip of his own.

"Yes, I have the icer," Trip replied. "I'm not calling it that."

"Do I get one?" Tommy asked excitedly.

"Ah, see, the thing is," Fitz started to say, but he didn't have to get too far into it before Trip rescued him.

"You'd have to go through SHIELD training before that."

"How long does that take?" Tommy asked.

"Well, not too long, once we get back to base," Fitz said. "And of course, all of you are welcome to our trainers if you'd like to fight."

"I thought you wanted to knock this dude out yourself," Trip pointed out.

"Fists it is," Tommy said with a little grin as he flexed out his hands.

But when the time came for them to move out, the little crew was absolutely all business, and it had Trip taking notice. He slipped into the Bishops' house first, with Tommy right behind him. But when he saw Derek, Trip didn't even have time to speak before Tommy darted around him and clocked him with everything he had — flattening him before Derek had the chance to realize _who_ it was in his house.

Trip gave him a little look, shook his head, and went looking for Susan as Tommy kept bouncing in place.

Of course, when Susan was confronted with someone she'd never seen before in the house, she dropped the plate she had been carrying and let out a gasp, her eyes wide. "Who—"

Trip quickly held up his SHIELD badge and held up the hand that was holding the gun. "I'm with SHIELD. You're in danger."

Susan looked that much more wide-eyed. "Me?" she squeaked out.

"I'm afraid so," he replied. "I need you to stay calm and come with me so I can ensure your safety."

"What about Jack?" Susan asked softly.

"He's gotta come too. We don't want to separate you from your family."

Susan glanced at his badge and his gun, and she shakily nodded. "I'll get him," she said, her bathrobe swirling around her knees as she wrapped it tighter.

"We have to keep this discreet, ma'am."

"Can't you tell us what's happening?" she asked. "In the middle of the night…"

"Once we get in the air, I'll tell you everything," Trip swore. "But we can't be overheard right now."

Susan looked like a deer in the headlights, but she rushed off to get Jack, and Fitz introduced himself as he took her bag and led the way — Trip of course with Derek Bishop slung over his shoulder.

"What's wrong with Dad?" Jack asked with a frown.

"I'll explain on the plane," Trip said. "I'll explain _everything_ on the plane. But right now, we have to get moving before we tip off someone."

Jack and Susan glanced at each other before they both nodded, and Jack wrapped one arm around Susan as he helped her out — the slight waddle finally visible when they hit the doorstep. Trip raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything; Coulson hadn't told him Susan was expecting.

The path to the transport was winding but quiet, and the ragtag crew made their way there with no hiccups, but nearly as soon as the doors closed and the engines fired up, all of them wanted to know exactly what was happening.

"C'mon — spill," Tommy said with an excited sort of grin painted over his face, barely giving the SHIELD agents enough time to sit down.

"All of you were on a list to be used as leverage against one victor or another," Trip said finally. "And SHIELD wasn't about to let that happen. Changing of the guard is right around the corner with the royals, and if we hadn't pulled you out, all of you would most certainly be dead by the end of the victory tour."

"Wh… what?" Jack stared at Trip — and even the usually rowdy boys from America's crew seemed floored by that.

"Hasn't anyone ever wondered why the victors toe the line?" Trip asked.

"Yeah, but, we _live_ with a victor," Eli pointed out. "We haven't seen anything that would indicate—"

"Yeah, and she hasn't been told the details of that part of the deal yet," Trip said. "They save the worst part of their win for the tour. Miss Chavez has no idea, but I can assure you — you are part of the 'incentive' program."

"But what about us?" Jack asked. "We don't have anything to do with … any of this."

"Kate," Susan said quietly, and when Jack turned her way, wide-eyed, she said, still in that same soft tone, "They're using _Kate's_ family against Logan — or am I wrong?" She turned toward Fitz and Trip, and her expression was much more like her sister.

"No, that's right," Trip replied.

"But… won't they get pissed at America when they realize her, um, leverage has vamoosed?" Tommy pointed out.

"By that time, the victors will be out of their reach," Trip said. "They won't know to move on you until we're already getting them out."

Teddy let out an audible sigh of relief, and the other boys looked his way. "So we're splitting from Thanos. Finally."

"The plan is to remove him," Fitz admitted. "And the heirs. No more Games either."

"And then what?" Jack asked.

"Then it gets complex, but the end result, if all our work goes well, is a new government with open travel between districts."

"And we can help fight, right?" Tommy asked with an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Absolutely," Fitz said. "We have trainers and specialists and ...well, a whole lot of people to make this all work. Over twenty years of planning has gone into this."

"Couldn't you have done this all before… before now?" Susan asked quietly.

"Believe it or not, no," Trip said. "The past year or so has gotten us intel that we never had access to before — and had we moved before now, it would have most certainly failed."

"And they would have come after us," Teddy said with a frown.

"And taken it out on the districts," Fitz added.

"But you're moving now," Nate said, speaking up at last. "So ... count us in."

"Good," Trip replied with a nod. "Then we'll get you settled in, and you can watch the revolution kick off."

* * *

 _January 2_

 _District Eleven_

* * *

America watched her fidgety escort as he sat across from her, his hands clasped in front of him. He seemed to be unable to sit still, no matter what he did. "You'll be expected to give a speech," he told America at last.

"Yeah, I know," America told him. "I've seen how this thing works."

Ian glanced up at her with an expression full of pleading. "Then you'll do it?"

"Yeah, sure," she said with a shrug that was much more casual than the anger that had been burning in the pit of her stomach since she got on the train. They hadn't changed anything about the train, not the seat cushions or the fruit bowl arrangements… it looked exactly the same as it had looked six months ago when she and Billy got on, and that was just making her angrier than she had been when she saw the Capitol cameramen all but drooling over her.

As far as she was concerned, the whole thing was the biggest waste of time she had ever been forced to endure. It was calculated to make her remember the Games, probably to try and remind her of her 'place,' whatever they thought that was.

But she wasn't going to take it sitting down.

She had seen the tour tear Logan apart when it was his turn. There was no other way to describe what she had seen with her own eyes when he was standing up on the stage in Twelve unable to say anything about Kate….

America had decided she was going to do something about it. Say what was on her mind — or else try to say what she figured Logan _had_ to have been thinking. Say _something_ that wasn't the mindless compliance that the Capitol seemed to expect.

"It's traditional for you to say something special for Miles, since you were in an alliance together," Ian said, breaking into her thoughts, and she glared his way for a moment before she shrugged up both shoulders.

"Yeah, I think I can come up with something," she said, and Ian looked honestly relieved to hear it.

Noh, on the other hand, was watching her carefully, his arms crossed over his chest, and he was blocking the doorway as the train pulled to a stop.

"You're gonna make me late," America said. "People will talk, and then where will your line be?"

"America," he said in what almost passed as a reasonable tone, "I've seen that look before, and I know what it means."

"Re- _lax_ , _chico_ ," she said as she pushed past him, physically moving him aside so she could exit the train. "I'm just going to talk about Miles. Like Ian said."

Noh followed after her with a look that clearly said he didn't believe her in the slightest.

Of course, it certainly didn't help the slowly burning anger America had going on when the whole gathering for Eleven started off with some high-minded speech from Ross, the escort, that had exactly zilch to do with Monet or Miles, so by the time she got to the mic, she wasn't even pretending to smile.

"Yeah, thanks for that intro — I can tell you _really_ cared, ya big softie," she grumbled Ross's way as soon as she had the mic. Ross looked somewhere between stunned and furious, and Ian looked like the world had fallen down around his shoulders.

But America wasn't going to let that stop her. She glanced over to where Miles' stand was — where there was no family left to stand on the platform — and narrowed her eyes. They had the picture up from his Games photos — the one where he was grinning nervously.

"So, I'm told you want to hear me say something about Miles? Fine. Let me tell you — that kid was nothing but nice," America said, and Ian relaxed the slightest bit behind her, clearly thinking that, attitude aside, at least she was doing what she was _supposed_ to.

"Kid was thirteen and scared stiff, but he had a shot, and you all know it. I know it, anyone with a brain knows it — and then those Capitol f-"

There was a loud, high-pitched screeching noise along with some serious feedback, and everyone assembled there covered their ears. Those on the stage looked around to try and see where the problem was — to find Noh-Varr hastily trying to right the sound equipment he had knocked over, looking the very picture of horrified with himself.

"Oh, I'm so- I'm so sorry. I was — I wanted to see the angles on the design — I think I dropped a stitch — I wasn't paying attention—" he was trying to explain. A couple Sentinels had to help him get the equipment back on track, but by that point, it seemed like the people running the show had decided to run with their 'good fortune' and _not_ give America the mic back. Instead, they went back to the people in Eleven. The mayor. The video. The sendoff.

By the time they got back to the train, America was fuming, and she grabbed Noh by the arm as soon as the door had shut behind them.

"What was _that_ all about?" she demanded.

He pushed her hand off of his arm and straightened his sleeve. "I told you — you can _not_ get in trouble with the Capitol. Didn't I tell you after the Games? They won't take it out on _you_."

America glared at him, but he held her gaze long enough that she knew he had to at least be sincere, so she muttered a few curses under her breath and threw up her hands. "They tell me I gotta talk — I talk. Then you tell me I should keep my mouth shut. You can't play it both ways."

"I'm just trying to prevent you from making a mistake you'll regret dearly later," Noh told her.

She frowned at him for a good long moment before she rolled her eyes and stalked past him. "Whatever. Don't do it again," she muttered out, already headed to privacy and her bed on the train — slamming the door behind her and refusing to talk to anyone.

* * *

 _January 3_

 _District Ten_

* * *

When the occupants of the train disembarked in Ten, Charles and Hank shared a look at the definitely stressed expression on Noh Varr's face. It was clearly a direct relation to the smug, ready-to-cause trouble look that America was sporting, and the two victors' glance spoke volumes between them without the inconvenience of speaking.

As Noh passed Charles, he reached out to tap the blue stylist and smile his way. "Please, don't look so distressed," Charles said with his serene expression. "It will be fine."

Noh blinked at Charles for a long moment. "I… do not think I can have another accident should she veer off script," he whispered.

"You're not in this alone, Noh-Varr," Charles replied. "None of us will let you carry that on your own." With that, he followed the younger man to the stage, taking his time to make a point and find just the right place to situate himself for when America predictably was set to blow.

At first, it looked like they might get away with it, as the opening statements were not nearly as rambling as Eleven's had been, much more precise and staccato — which didn't give America quite the slow, angry build she'd had before.

But she took the mic, squared her shoulders, and looked out over the district before her gaze found Yuriko's platform. "Yeah," she said decisively, locking gazes with her father and brother. "Yeah, I'm not apologizing. She had it coming. Must've been _real brave_ to sneak up on defenseless little girls—"

"Champion of the little guy, ladies and gentlemen," Jameson cut across, America's mic suddenly dead, even though she was very clearly still trying to keep going. She tapped it for a moment to find that someone had cut her feed while JJ kept on talking about how she'd been an upstanding example of how to help those smaller. He even went so far as to take his mic off the stand and walk to the opposite side of the stage as the victors surrounded America and the show seemed to be cut short.

"Pompous windbag," America muttered out toward JJ.

"He is at that, my dear," Charles agreed, though he gave JJ a grateful nod as he passed him by in America's wake.

"Getting real tired of being cut off," she added Noh's way, though the blue stylist held up both hands.

"I did _not_ ask _J. Jonah Jameson_ for help," he said, sounding affronted.

America gave him a look, clearly not believing him, before she stepped up her pace and pushed past the group, leaving Noh to give Charles a look of pure gratitude.

"Thank you," he said, sounding supremely relieved. "She has not listened to me…"

"You know how we work," Charles replied quietly. "Or you should. I'm sure Jubilee told you how things worked last year … and should you have found yourself talking to someone as distasteful as Obidiah Stane, you would have heard a similar story about Rhodes' year as well. And the year before, and the year before."

"I've seen the years pass and the victors work together, I just… did not know the stakes until recently," Noh said at a whisper. "And now I find I can't keep from fretting. She has lost so much already."

"She has," Charles agreed. "But she's gained a small army in us. We'll take care of her. Like it or not."

* * *

 _January 4_

 _District Nine_

* * *

"Please. _Please_. Just… here."

America blinked at Ian and then down at the notecards that he had handed to her with perfectly innocuous things written down for her to say. "This doesn't sound anything like me," she said, shoving the cards back at him.

"Please," Ian said, holding them back out.

America paused, glared his way, and then grabbed the cards to stuff them into the pocket of the fitted jacket Noh had given her. "I'm not going to read from them," she told him, but she felt badly enough about the look of just… near pleading that she felt obligated to at least take the cards.

When she got to the stage, Nine's escort, Robert Kelly, was clearly giving her a sideways glance all the way through his opening speech, seemingly reluctant to hand her the microphone.

But yeah, she wasn't about to let anyone keep her from saying her piece. So she took the notecards out of her pockets and flashed a smile Kelly's way.

He watched her carefully, still frowning, but she held his gaze until he handed over the mic, and she glanced over to where Kitty's parents were on the stand.

She took a deep breath. "There must be something about Nine," she said in a much more subdued tone than she had used in the previous districts. "But you come to the Games, which are terrifying and violent and horrible, with the sweetest kids I've ever seen. Kitty didn't deserve to die, and I'm sorry she did. She was a good kid." She let out a breath, glanced down at the mic, and nodded once. "I liked her," she said in conclusion and then stepped back.

Everyone else on the stage seemed to be in shock — they had probably planned some ridiculous commotion like with Noh and the sound equipment. But America wasn't going to do that to Kitty's memory. She was a good kid, and she hadn't been killed because the Capitol came after her. She'd been killed by an idiot kid from Five — even if it was still the Capitol's fault.

* * *

The whole district was still talking about America's speech — and how she'd somehow managed to tiptoe around her desire to yell at everyone that she'd felt had wronged the kids she'd fought with and against — when the Wagner clan arrived at their house to find a very nondescript, kind-looking, middle-aged man sitting in their living room. "Ms. Wagner," he said. "Stefan, Amanda. Nice to meet the three of you. I'm Agent Phil Coulson of SHIELD, and I'd like very much to speak with you for a moment."

Both of the twins, taller than they had been in the family interviews over a year ago by almost half a foot, looked wide-eyed on hearing that he was from SHIELD, and Margali looked downright concerned as she waved him inside.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Coulson replied. "All three of you are in grave danger if you remain here in Nine."

The twins glanced at each other in alarm, with guilt written over their features, and Margali glanced at both of them as she laid a hand on Amanda's arm. "Danger from whom — and why?" she asked, sharply.

"Believe it or not, it has nothing to do with their rebel activities," Coulson said. "This is something else entirely. A threat from the royals on one of our victors. You and the twins are being used as leverage, and SHIELD would like to stop that immediately."

"What?" Margali seemed to be torn over whether to be shocked at the revelation or relieved that the twins themselves weren't in danger for their own actions.

"That's not to say that the kids wouldn't be in the Capitol's crosshairs very, _very_ soon — but that is not the reason for this … intervention."

"What can we do?" Stefan asked, leaning forward and looking every bit like he was ready to _go_.

"We have a few hours," Coulson said as he glanced at his watch. "Stay inside, keep it to yourself — maybe gather up any personal effects you'd like to keep. In fact, if you two would get on that, I'd like a private word with your mother."

The twins both looked like they wanted to argue the point, but Margali fixed the two of them with a look neither of them could mistake, which had both of them zipping down the hall to pack their things.

Margali let out a sigh and turned to Coulson. "You're with SHIELD," she said softly.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with a nod. "But SHIELD isn't what you think it is."

"No?" She raised a single eyebrow. "You come here and ask me to uproot my family — _knowing_ you have seen what my children do…"

"We're starting a revolution," Coulson said very softly. "If they want to continue raising hell against the Capitol, I will personally give them the tools to be more efficient and safe about it."

She gestured for him to take a seat as she thought over her response. "They're thirteen years old, Agent Coulson."

"Yes," he said, nodding his head. "And we can keep them out of the field — and with a little luck, out of the war entirely, if we can end it quickly. But you and I both know if they stay here, they will be thirteen and out on their own trying to fight. And putting themselves right into the front lines."

She let out a sigh and had to reluctantly nod. "Yes. They would be." She folded her hands in front of herself and watched him expectantly. "And SHIELD hopes to change that? How?"

"We've been planning this uprising for over twenty years. All the pieces have fallen into place. One way or another, it's going to start very soon, and we need you and your family in a safe place when that happens."

She nodded. "I appreciate you keeping my family safe; I suppose I just don't understand why. If the twins haven't attracted attention… you said the _royals_ were looking our way. What on earth for?"

Coulson let out a sigh and looked over his shoulder toward where the twins had disappeared before he took a step toward Margali. "I mentioned that the royals are watching … but it's to keep a victor in line. That's how they make them behave. They use people that are important to individual victors against them. That's how Drax ended up with his whole family gone. He didn't want to cooperate."

Margali blinked at him for a long moment as the pieces seemed to fall into place. Her lips parted into a single "oh," and she let her gaze fall to her hands.

"We're moving now to keep that exact thing from ever happening again," Coulson said.

"And the victors?" Margali asked.

"They'll be safe by the time it starts," Coulson said. "At least, as safe as they can be. Many of them are on our side, waiting for the signal to fight."

"Their families as well?" Margali said. "I can only assume that is part of the plan."

"Of course," he said, nodding. "Those that have families are being moved."

She nodded and glanced toward the hallways the twins had disappeared down. "If there's anything I can do ... I'm sure there will be families to deal with that have younger members…"

"We're kind of playing it by ear when it comes to this part of it. It isn't that long ago that we even knew for sure who was on the list the royals had," Coulson admitted. "So I'm sure ... if you find a void that needs filling, please, feel free to do so. Our primary concern here was simply to get you all safe — and iron out the details later."

She nodded. "Then, if you'll excuse me — I need to gather a few things of my own."

"Of course," he replied stepping back and giving her space, and she brushed past him to head to her room, gathering up a few treasures even as the twins returned with excited looks and bags packed.

"You two really have been doing good work with what you have to work with," Coulson said, attempting to show them a more friendly side.

"You mean _great_ work," Amanda said with a _huge_ grin on. "I mean, if you've seen what we can do…"

"I have, but you need training," Coulson said with a smirk at the corner of his mouth. "Your dramatics are top-notch, though. Second-best I've ever seen."

"Second-best… _second-best_?" Stefan looked supremely insulted.

"I'm sorry, but the truth hurts sometimes," Coulson replied, his smirk widening minutely. "Maybe you'll improve with age."

"You said something about training?" Amanda asked, cutting her brother off when he looked like he might still want to argue the point.

"Yes, we'll help hone whatever skills you think you excel at," Coulson replied. "But not everything is front lines. We are actively pushing a cyber warfare unit that is poised to decimate the Capitols' systems—"

"We like the sneaky stuff," Stefan said.

"I'm no good with… cyber stuff," Amanda added.

"There are plenty of other options," Coulson promised. "Pilots are always in demand. Medics. Demolitions …"

"Demolitions?" both of the twins said at once.

"The leveling of buildings and weaponry," Coulson said. "Via explosions."

"That one," Stefan said with a grin.

"We haven't done more than wreck some Sentinel outposts, but… it's _fun_ ," Amanda agreed.

"Well, for that, you'll need your mother's permission," Coulson admitted.

The twins glanced at each other, and some of the excitement had gone out of their gazes before they seemed to share a wordless agreement, and Amanda turned back to Coulson. "Got it," she said simply.

"We'll go over your options when we get to the base," Coulson said. "You'll be among the first to be there."

Stefan gestured for Coulson to lead the way. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road."


	19. The Heart of Marvel

**Chapter 19: "The Heart of Marvel"**

* * *

 _January 5_

 _District Eight_

* * *

"Really, I get it," Sam Wilson said as he and America were seated on the train — on their way to District Eight for the next stop of her tour. "You think I didn't think the exact same thing when those clones showed up?"

"You want me to give you the mic next time? Cause the way I see it, you're just _thinking_ it — doesn't count for anything unless you do something about it," she said irritably. He wasn't the first victor to try to tell her that she needed to tone it back, but honestly, she'd tried that the first time. Went to the Capitol parties after the Games and wore the stupid spangly outfits — and it had done all of _nothing_ to make her feel any less pissed off. _Why_ would she keep doing something that she hated?

Sam shook his head at her. "You have to be smart about what you do about it. Giving the Capitol the middle finger on a big stage is — well, it's a good feeling, I'll give you that. But it's not smart. At all," he said pointedly.

"Uh-huh. And smiling at the opportunity as it sails past is so much better," she grumbled, not buying a word of it.

"Waiting for a better one, more like," Sam tried to defend, but America clearly wasn't buying it.

"You're going to be waiting a good long time, then," she sniffed as the train came to a stop for Eight.

"You don't have much faith, do you, Miss America?" Sam asked with a supremely amused look on his face.

She smirked his way. "Prove it to me, and I'll believe it."

"Alright, I may just have to do that then. But until I get a chance — why don't you pretend to be nice until we get back to the Capitol?"

She looked like she was actually thinking about it as she gave him a clear once-over. "Depends on what they say, I guess," she allowed. "I'm not gonna let stupid fly."

"Just _try_ , alright?" he requested with a smile that he couldn't hold back.

"Is that what you do?" she asked as she brushed off her outfit and got to her feet.

"Yes, yes, that is what I do," he agreed. "Every day. All the time."

"And how's that working for you?" she said dryly. "Seen a lot of change — besides the forced wedding and the crap they're peddling here?"

"I have, as a matter of fact," he replied. "But that's above your level right now."

"Which is code for bull and crap," she said.

"If you say so," he said, trying and failing to keep his smile in check as he gestured for her to exit the car.

She smirked his way for a moment and then pushed past him toward the stage, where the Eight team was already set up. Shirley Lewis was watching America nervously, and both Eight victors, America noticed, were stationed near the sound equipment.

"Not subtle," she said Jess's way as she passed her.

But to the ultimate relief of the three Eight people on the stage, America really didn't have too much to get mad about here. Shirley was actually pretty sweet and gave an honestly lovely speech about the two tributes Eight had sent in, so by the time America got the mic, the whole mood was sort of subdued and contemplative.

She stared at the mic for a moment, surprised into silence, before she gripped it in one hand and glanced over to see that Jess was steadily inching closer to the sound equipment.

She took a deep breath and let her shoulders drop a little. "I… am sorry about your loss," she said, directing her statement to the blonde man on Gwen's platform that had to be her father. "Didn't really know Gwen, but Miles liked her. And that's good enough for me." She didn't quite know what else to say as the man met her gaze, so she shifted a bit. "Alright, well. That's enough of that," she finally said, handing Shirley back the mic as she just stepped back with the other victors. She wasn't going to cause a scene when the whole district was just… remembering.

* * *

"Oh, hello," Jemma Simmons said as May Parker opened her door with a kind smile. She'd been a bit quicker than Simmons had expected. "I'm Jemma. May I come in? I'd like to have a little chat."

"Of course," May said. "What can I do for you?"

Simmons stepped in and smiled demurely as May closed the door behind her and led the way to the living room, offering the young woman a seat. "I'm afraid that you're in serious danger, staying here. I'm Agent Jemma Simmons, with SHIELD — and I'm here to relocate you." She was nervous now that she was almost tripping over her points. This was supposed to be an easier pick up — but she still felt butterflies in her stomach at the mission.

May looked a bit concerned for Simmons more than anything as she watched the young woman. "I haven't left this house in years — what's the rush now?" she asked, even as she offered the nervous SHIELD agent some of the sweets she had on the coffee table.

"Oh! No, no — it's nothing you've done, I assure you," she replied, trying to politely decline May's offered sweets. "It's ... a bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid. The royals are .. well, they've been using people as leverage. And you're on their list of … targets."

May looked honestly shocked, one hand over her heart. "Why ... who could possibly…?" She shook her head. "There's no one left to leverage, I'm afraid. You must be mistaken."

"I'm certain that I'm not," Simmons replied. "One of our victors..." She paused and took a deep breath. "Our victors have been trying to keep certain people safe by _behaving_ … and you're on that list."

"Well." May let out a huff and rearranged her shoulders as she thought it over. " _Well_."

"I'm sure you can puzzle it out as to what's going on," Simmons said a bit quieter. "I'm here to get you safe so the Capitol can't do that anymore."

"Then by all means," May said. She paused. "Is it alright if I gather a few things? There are some things that just can't be replaced."

"Oh, yes, please do. We can't leave until a bit after dark. You have loads of time."

"Would you like to help?" May asked. "Or perhaps you'd like some tea or something to eat?"

"If … you'd like the help, I'd be glad to," Simmons replied. "Or .. I can put on the tea?"

"The kettle is in the cabinet on the top right," May said as she stood and began to gather things — first and foremost going to the mantle, where there were pictures of Ben, Peter, the whole family together, even one of Peter and Gwen.

Jemma set to making the tea, her nerves settling out as the familiarity of it caught up to her, and by the time she'd assembled the cups, the sugar, cream — all of what they _might_ want — she was more or less back to her more composed, more scientific self.

"Alright then, Mrs. Parker," she called out. "I think I've got it all piping hot and ready to go." She carried the tray into the living room and set it down on the coffee table in front of May before she took a seat and busied herself with pouring it out.

"Thank you very much," May said with a sweet smile as she set down her little bag of keepsakes.

"So," Jemma said. "Have you any questions I can answer for you? I'm sure this is more than a bit distressing."

"More concerning for the people who are being… so _used_ ," May said with a deeply settled frown. "I was perfectly ignorant until now, but those poor young people…"

"Oh, that's … that's all going to be a thing of the past quite soon, I assure you," Simmons said with a smile. "The royals won't be able to touch them, and all of that nonsense will be over. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing Peter Quill back to himself again."

"That poor thing," May agreed with a little sigh as she added a little cream to her tea. "You know they showed the whole affair on television, and I have never seen someone look so pale that wasn't ill."

"Oh, it was dreadful," she agreed. "But you didn't get to see the rest of the victors. Most somber wedding gathering in history." She waved her hand. "But that will all be behind them. No one will be able to use them like that again."

"Won't the Capitol notice when you start removing people?" May asked curiously.

"Oh." She leaned forward and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I didn't say, did I? It's a revolution."

May blinked at Simmons in surprise. "Really? When?"

"Really," she said with a nod. "I can tell you the when once we get into the air. But very soon."

"Of course — you wouldn't be here otherwise," May said, nodding to herself as the pieces fell into place for her. She paused and looked Simmons over. "Would you like anything to eat? If we are going to wait for a while, I'd hate for you to go hungry."

"Only if you're planning on doing so anyhow," Simmons replied. "There will be dinner waiting for us at the base, I'm sure."

"All the same, I make it a point never to let visitors leave on an empty stomach," May said with a warm smile, already rising to look through her pantry and see what she could make quickly before dark fell.

* * *

 _January 6_

 _District Seven_

* * *

Two districts in a row that America hadn't tried to pull something — both Ian and Noh looked supremely relieved about that fact.

But the problem was: they simply didn't know how America was going to react to this particular stop. Noh was sure that Jubilee would help him if it came down to it, and Ian knew that Moira wouldn't give the kind of speech that would tick off America — but that was incidental if she came into the whole thing already sporting a grudge.

It was hard to tell if she would. Noh knew from Jubilee that America had been part of the rooftop gang, but she had definitely gravitated toward the smaller kids, not necessarily the ones that could handle themselves like Scott and Clara. And she _had_ been actually pretty sweet when she talked about Kitty in Nine…

It was completely up in the air just what America would do, and it looked like she knew it, too, as she passed the two of them on her way out of the train to Seven. "Why the long faces, boys?" she teased them with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Ian and Noh glanced at each other — yeah, that decided it. She was going to be a problem.

As the new victor headed toward where Seven's victors were standing, America watched as Creed shoved Logan into Groot, which got the raccoon to start snarling at both of them, but Logan turned and made a quick rush to land a solid uppercut to Creed's front right side. The big rush of air that left him with an 'oof' was proof positive of a good shot — though as the Sentinels stepped in to separate them, none of them seemed to realize that Creed … was not looking very well all of a sudden.

Logan, on the other hand, simply readjusted how his sleeves were rolled up his arms and turned to softly apologize to a smiling Groot before he reached up to scratch Rocket behind the ear. All seemed well.

Mayor Beaubier came out to give his speech to the district, though America wasn't really paying attention to any of it, glancing between the two family platforms as she seemed to be building up to something. There was a particular sort of glare on her face at Scott's empty platform — though she tried to soften it toward the Creeds now that she knew not _all_ of them were stupid. But as America took to the microphone, a commotion rose up when Victor Creed collapsed on stage, totally dead to the world.

Logan and Groot shared a look, and Logan glanced out over the district as if nothing had happened at all, his arms crossed over his chest.

America, on the other hand, was clearly totally and completely _tickled_. As the Sentinels on the stage rushed in, she could be heard over the whole crowd crooning, "No, no, leave him here — it's perfect decoration."

"Come on, kiddo," Logan said as she was ushered closer to the victors. "Time to get outta here."

She looked honestly put out. "It was just getting _good_."

"Yeah, but … there'll be time for that later," Logan said with a troublemaking glint in his gaze. "We gotta figure out your dance card."

"Really." She gave him a dry look for that one. " _That's_ where your priorities are?"

"Better'n worryin' about him," Logan replied. "What else are we supposed to worry about right now? I've been reliably informed that this is a mostly dry train."

"Yeah, they hid most of it after Eleven. Think I did something?" she asked with a pretended innocent expression.

"Nah, that was probably coincidental," he said with a nod. "Like how they hid it from me after, oh … Eight."

"Must be something about spiders," she decided.

"Yep, that's the trouble," he agreed before he paused. "I'll bet I can sniff it out anyhow. If you're game."

"If it means getting out of _dance card_ conversations?" she teased. "Bring it on."

* * *

When Agent May and Skye got to the back door of the Hudsons' house, they could already hear the kids inside playing games with each other — giggling and squealing and screaming all the way around the house — so it took three times knocking before Heather met them at the back door with one little girl trailing behind her and holding onto her arm.

"Your timing is awful," Heather said. "You missed him."

"Actually, I'm here to see you," Skye said with a little smile.

"May we come in?" May asked, stepping slightly forward as she looked around the living room at the gathered group of kids. "It's cold out, and I don't want to bring in a chill."

"So you _didn't_ get a coat," Heather said with a raised eyebrow as she moved aside for the two women to enter.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Skye asked, though Heather didn't have to answer, since Elsie had come running up to Skye wearing one of the white coats with a huge grin.

"Logan gave some to _everyone_ so we match!" she declared happily, spinning around so that Skye could see her coat.

"That's actually going to be very helpful," May muttered over Skye's shoulder.

"They're _green_ on the inside, too," piped up another one of the kids, a little girl with reddish-blonde curls.

"Oh, are they?" May asked, one eyebrow raised; she couldn't quite hide the little smirk. Clearly, Logan had been planning ahead with the coats... and the snowpants… and the boots. May had to shake her head at the whole thing before she turned to Heather with her hand extended. "Special Agent Melinda May, of SHIELD. I'm afraid we don't have much time for the full explanation, but as soon as your husband gets home, we need you and your kids to come with us."

"She means _all_ the kids," Skye added quickly. "We're not leaving anyone behind."

"Wait," Heather said, holding up both of her hands in front of her. "Don't you think they're going to miss a Sentinel not showing up to work suddenly?"

"Not at all," Skye said with a grin. "He's on a vacation with his wife for the next two weeks. The system says so. He put in the request a few weeks back." She paused. "At least, that's what the records will show. And Dugan already approved the request, so you're in the clear."

"Is … Is Logan in some kind of trouble?" Heather asked barely louder than a whisper.

"I'll explain everything once we're in the air," May promised her. "But in a way, yes. All of the victors are in danger, one way or another. But more importantly, so are you," she said, deciding honesty was the best policy, though Elsie Dee was watching her suspiciously the whole time.

"Elsie, quietly go get the rest of the kids ready. Tell them to get their favorite dolls or teddy bears," Heather instructed carefully. "We're going to go see Logan, aren't we?" she said toward May.

"Yep, he's going to meet us there," Skye said with a bright smile. "He'll be a little late, though — he still has to take the train." The smile grew even brighter. " _We_ get to take the fast way — in a hovercraft!"

Elsie looked at all three of them with a healthy level of suspicion before she turned slowly. "Alright ... but you better not be lying to me, lady."

"You'll see when we get to the hovercraft," Skye promised. "Besides, I know better than to lie to you," she added, which got a serious smirk out of May as she watched the little blonde go.

Once it was just the three women, though, May stowed the smile and turned toward Heather in a hushed tone. "We'll tell you more once we're out of the district, but for right now, you should know that the Capitol has been threatening people close to their victors to get them to toe the line," she said quickly. "So before we can make a move against the royals — and we _will_ — we have to get those people, people like you and your family, to safety so they can't be used as leverage."

"Against Logan," Heather guessed. "What … what do they know? Is Mac in trouble?"

"They don't know the extent of the relationship," May promised. "But they do know that you and the kids are frequent guests at his house, which makes you leverage, I'm sorry to say."

"How long before we can see him?" Heather asked.

"We can't move until the tour hits the Capitol," Skye cut in. "They'd notice if the victors were missing. But… hopefully? Very, _very_ soon after that."

"We'll tell you the details once we get in the air," May said. "Your husband's a Sentinel; I'm sure you can appreciate the need to keep things quiet until we're somewhere safe."

"Yes, well," Heather said as she headed toward her bedroom, "we've kept our secret for years. I'm pretty sure I can keep my mouth shut for a couple of hours."

"Now we just have to make sure to get the kids out," Skye said.

"Oh," Heather said, calling over her shoulder. "I have suckers for that. There was a ton of them in the Christmas candy. They'll be quiet."

"She's a genius," Skye told May, who smirked at that.

"Maybe she'll give you one too," May teased.

"I wouldn't say no," Skye shot right back. "Seeing as someone took away my usual source of sugar." May gave her a _look_ for that one as the two women settled onto the couch to wait for Mac's return so they could head out with the small army of Hudsons.

"Oh, since you missed Christmas," Heather said when she came out of her bedroom with a small bag packed. "You should get your gift before we go."

"Oh ... I didn't… get you anything," Skye said awkwardly, holding up both hands.

"That doesn't mean anything; all I really want is for you two to be _happy_ anyhow," Heather replied sweetly as she handed Skye a perfectly-wrapped box.

Skye stared at Heather for a good long moment before she looked down at the box and carefully unwrapped it, surprised into a smile by the hunting hat — complete with ear flaps. She pulled it on over her ears and smiled at Heather. "Well? How do I look?"

"Like you're missing something warm," Heather said. "Like a _coat_." She shook her head and took a seat on the couch. "Honestly. For as cold as you were in front of a roaring fire, I don't know how you made it out on the mountain for nearly a week."

"I'm not used to Seven winters," Skye said lamely, shifting a bit when she realized Heather was playing at something. "But we had a fire and blankets."

"Yes, I'm sure you did, but you had fire and blankets and were still cold in the _house_ ," she pointed out. "It just seems odd when the house gets as warm as it does … and that mountain is crazy..." She let her statement fall, but she was smirking Skye's way.

"Well, it was earlier in the season too, don't forget," Skye tried to argue as May leaned back, sure that Skye didn't know what she was getting into.

"Honey, I have been up on that mountain, and I know firsthand there's only one real way to stay warm up there," Heather said dryly. "And it's not some crappy little campfire."

"Well then I don't know what you were hinting about if you already know the answers," Skye said, though she had a slight blush to her cheeks.

"I just want to see what you'll admit to," Heather admitted. "Taking advantage …"

"I did _not_ ," Skye said, holding up both hands. "I was miserably cold and using the blankets and fire… _he_ suggested it. I was _professional_."

"There it is," Heather said with a self-satisfied little grin. "And how long did your professionalism last?"

"It… lasted … what are you suggesting, anyway?" Skye spluttered.

Heather looked up at May with a raised eyebrow. "Is she always this easy for everything?"

"She's actually improved," May said with a little shrug. "But we try not to take advantage of her _too_ often." She smirked. "Our interrogation skills would get rusty if she was our practice detainee."

Heather nodded to herself before she turned back to Skye. "So. How serious are you?" She was resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she watched her.

"We're just… I don't _know_ ," Skye said, her eyes wide as she glanced toward May and found absolutely no help there.

"So you're just after a good time then?" Heather asked, looking scandalized.

" _No_." Skye shook her head hard. "No. It's just ... hard to be _anything_ when the Capitol is watching him."

"And that's _all_ the hold up?"

"Like May said ... people he's close to get held against him. So… yeah, pretty much," Skye said, tipping her chin up. "It's a big, important, neon hold up."

Heather looked overly serious for a moment or two longer before the smile began to spread across her face slowly. "I _knew it._ "

Skye looked to May in alarm. "Knew… what?" she asked slowly, regretting the question already.

But before May could say anything one way or the other, Mac came in and froze on seeing the two women in the living room. "Hello," he said quietly as he closed the door behind himself. "To what do we owe this … SHIELD visit?"

Skye looked entirely relieved to see him there. "We're getting you and Heather and the kids out of Seven," she said as she quickly stood to cross the room. "Tonight."

"All of us?" Mac asked, a bit wide-eyed, and when May nodded, he let out a breath and let his shoulders relax. "Great. Can you take the tracker out of this armor?" he asked as he pulled off the front half of his uniform. "I'll just bet you can use it otherwise."

"You've already been thinking about this," May said with a pleased sort of smirk as Skye jumped at the chance to tinker with the tracker.

"Oh yeah," Mac admitted. "For a good long time. This one … right there," he said showing her the device. "Don't — just don't touch the red wires. You really don't want to do that."

Skye nodded quickly at the advice and set to work with her tongue between her teeth as May said, "I think your wife has everything packed up, but if you have anything in particular you want to bring, now would be the time."

"I'll take a quick peek, but Heather knows what I'd want to grab," Mac said, walking Skye through the other points of interest on the uniform. "They have explosives in the uniforms of the outer districts," he explained to May. "New addition in the last, oh, couple weeks or so."

"I hadn't heard that," May said, and she sounded more perturbed than anything else.

"Well, I'm guessing your intel centers closer to the Capitol and the inner districts," Mac said. "Seven has always been pegged for trouble."

"Then it'll be good to have this on hand," May said thoughtfully. "Think you could give a demo — when things settle out and we have time for things like demos?"

"Absolutely," Mac replied, nodding already. "I don't think some of the guys really think that the Capitol will use them as walking bombs. They're being told it's a last ditch in case of riot, but come on."

"It will be a problem for us," May admitted. "We didn't know about it — and wouldn't have known if not for you. Which means the Capitol is making moves apart from SHIELD." She let out a breath. "It's good we're moving soon — if they're getting this suspicious."

Mac nodded and turned to look at the clock. "Alright — it's dark, and we've got fifteen minutes before the shift change, so ... let me just … be right back." He started toward his room, but as he went, he made a point to let out a low whistle that made all the kids stop what they were doing to look his way. "Be quiet. Get your coats and snow clothes on," he said very calmly and softly.

May raised an eyebrow Heather's way as the kids did just that. "Wonder if that works on SHIELD agents."

"Well, we can show you our ways," Heather said as she got to her feet and did the same as the kids, though she was quick to help the smallest ones into their coats and zip them up. "I'll get the suckers.… Everyone, behave."

With most of the kids now occupied with the suckers and candy — and Mac with Josh on his shoulders — that was everyone taken care of. May led the way to the transport, surprised — but relieved — at how quietly the group was able to get through the forest and snow on the way.

When they got loaded up, and the kids got their masked hoods off, Heather and Skye went to buckling them in — and Mac tried to get a smile out of Josh. But the little guy didn't want to take his eyes off of May. When she finally met his gaze, he smiled shyly, hid halfway behind Mac, and waved with one hand.

She smiled back at him, surprised, and waved back. "Hey," she said, sounding for the first time since Skye had met her less than sure of herself. "What's your name?"

For a second, he seemed to hide further behind Mac, his hands clenched into fists in the fabric of Mac's coat, but then he peeked out a little more than before. "Josh," he almost whispered.

"May," she said, still with that same little smile. She paused, tipped her head, and seemed to consider something. "Do you want to trade seats so you can see out the window? It's dark, but the lights are on in the district."

He looked up at Mac, who only offered him a smile and a very gentle, "It's up to you, bud." And Josh looked back to May and nodded very seriously.

May slid out of her seat and stood aside so that the little guy could climb up to where she had been sitting and press his face to the window, where, in fact, he could see the lights of the district below, as well as the lights along the train rails where the big wigs were still having the send-off party long after the train had departed. May sat back and let him drink it in, smiling softly to herself at his completely awed expression.

"He likes you," Mac told her very quietly. "He doesn't like to talk or interact with anyone, really."

"Me?" May seemed honestly surprised. "I'm not… I prefer not to do this kind of thing, actually."

"Outside of Heather and I, he likes Logan — who, in case you missed it, is not the world's biggest talker."

"That must be it then," May said. "Quiet." And that seemed to decide it for her as she leaned back and looked out the window.

By the time the transport landed at the new base, most of the kids were asleep, and May was smiling softly down at Josh where he'd fallen asleep with his head practically in her lap. "I've got him," Mac promised as he picked the sleeping little one up. When he walked away to where Skye was directing traffic, Josh picked his head up to smile at May again and wave at her over Mac's shoulder before he snuggled in.

* * *

 _January 7_

 _District 6_

* * *

"You gonna try and stop me like all the other ones?" America asked Logan as the train pulled to a stop in Six.

"Stop you from what?" he asked, leaning back and looking honestly confused as to what she was talking about.

"They told me to say a piece, and then they take my mic. You in on that crap? Because I _will_ deck you."

He leaned toward her with a smirk. "When have I ever fought anyone for a microphone?"

She had to laugh at that and nodded before the doors opened, and she headed for the stage, sure to flip off Schmidt on her way to stand in the center of it to get things started on the right foot.

Darcy gave her introduction, of course, and it wasn't anything that was honestly irksome. She spoke kindly about Kamala in particular and how far she'd made it — but America wasn't listening to a word of it, focused on the platform with Kamala's family as she tried to work out whether she was going to try and piss of Schmidt, the Capitol, or everyone in one go.

"It's just too bad you guys have such a piss-poor victor," America started out, "because Kamala could have won if not for—"

As soon as things started to even _look_ like they were going south, Darcy sprung into action and quickly grabbed Ian by the collar to pull him into a very involved kiss — complete with a dip directly behind America — though in full view of anyone looking near the stage at all.

It was surprising enough that even America stopped to just… watch as Ian turned a brilliant pink and tried to figure out what to do with his hands, and when Darcy pulled him back to his feet, she had the perfect expression of innocence as she glanced around, wiping at the corner of her mouth before she stopped and leaned forward dramatically. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were tucked away better than that. My bad. Oops." She had a tight smile as she waved with one hand over her head. "I'll try harder next time."

There was really no way to get it back after that after one of the victors let out a loud wolf-whistle, and then the whole stage fell into either congratulating Darcy on finally deciding not to wait for Ian — or generally making such a big deal over the whole thing that the party was more or less over as far as "public speaking" was concerned.

As soon as America got near Logan, he couldn't help but lean over her shoulder the slightest. "You gonna hit 'em for stealin' your thunder, or was that entertaining enough to let it slide?"

"I can't hit that freckle-faced kid so soon after his _first kiss_ ," America pointed out.

"Sure can't," he said with an amused smile. "But it's nice to know you're a hopeless romantic."

"Did you pay attention to my Games at all? That's not a secret," she pointed out.

"Hey, I'm just waitin' for you to get back to GoGo …" he said, tipping his head to the side. "Maybe you can advise her on a line."

She grinned brilliantly at him. "Oh — she's still single then?"

"Just waitin' on you, the way I heard it," he told her. "But that was all of a couple weeks ago, so who knows. Maybe some other pretty young thing caught her eye in the meantime."

"Yeah, what was I thinking living in Twelve for all that time," America deadpanned. "But it's nice to know you're willing to take the trip just to check up on my prospects."

He tipped his head to the side with a little frown and nodded, maybe a little too late to make it convincing.

She matched his frown for a moment, her lips pursed as she thought it over before she grinned at him outright. "I need a drink I can use for blaming when I hit Schmidt. Wanna join me?"

"In hittin' Schmidt or in drinkin'? I could go for either, and I stole a bottle of Scotch outta Osborn's car."

"Well let's see which we run into first — the Scotch or the Skull."

"What if I hit him with the bottle?" he suggested. "Two birds with one booze."

"Great. You hit him high, and I'll kick him low."

He found a nice quiet spot with a low table to kick his feet up before he pulled the bottle of Scotch out from behind the pillows on the couch where he had sat down. "First things' first," he said as he unscrewed the cap.

She grinned and put her hands behind her head as she put up her own feet. "Right. Priorities," she agreed — and the other victors on the train seemed to back off to let those two handle each other for the time being.


	20. What Are They Gonna Do, Kill Me?

**Chapter 20: "What Are They Gonna Do, Kill Me?"**

* * *

 _January 13_

 _The Capitol_

* * *

The last few districts of the tour had gone relatively without incident. Relatively. Peter Quill had turned very pale and stumbled over some important wiring, and no one could really find it in them to blame him when he looked like he honestly was about to pass out.

It was the only time that America could believe the excuses for why she hadn't been able to say her piece. But by that point, she was so _done_ with people stealing her thunder that she stopped trying for it. Districts One through Four got a 'screw you' and a glare before she stomped back to the train each time — which wasn't ideal, but it wasn't a specific middle finger to the Capitol or royals, so they took what they could get.

Of course, when they got to the Capitol, it was a different story, and both Noh and Jubilee insisted on pulling her aside, supposedly to put the finishing touches on their joint design for her short red dress, to warn her _again_ that the Capitol wasn't going to forgive her for her very public middle finger.

"What are they gonna do, kill me?" America challenged them as she pushed Jubilee's hand away from fixing the neckline. "Send another one of my friends to go die — like I don't know they're gonna get drawn next year anyway?"

"They won't wait until next year, America," Jubilee whispered.

America turned her way with a glare. "Yeah? And what are they gonna blame it on this time, huh? Nobody believes their crap anymore."

"America," Noh said softly, almost pleadingly, and it was the tone he used that finally got her to pause. "They don't have to give any excuse. They've been doing this for decades. Do you honestly think the other victors don't have people _they_ care about?"

America frowned and crossed her arms. "They care about appearances," she pointed out. "Or you two would be out of a job. They're not just gonna—"

"Oh yes they are," Noh broke in. "And they will. They will kill anyone you care about if you don't do exactly as they say, and they will not be nice about it. Or don't you remember Billy?" He paused when America looked like she was one step away from hitting him, and he took in a deep breath, glancing at Jubilee for a moment. "America, there's something you should—" But he didn't get much further than that when the door clanged open and they were joined by a new friendly face.

"What's got you so serious?" Logan asked as he came into the District Twelve suite, and Jubilee frowned his way when she saw the tie in his hands.

"Hey, why did you take that off?" Jubilee asked, taking the tie out of his hands and moving to fix it for him again.

"It was irritatin'," Logan said, though he kept a steely gaze on Noh and very subtly shook his head when the stylist met his gaze. "Sounded heated out there. What's the subject?"

Noh held his gaze with an almost apologetic sort of expression. "I was trying to explain to America just why the victors don't act out against the Capitol's wishes," he said.

"Keep your friends home safe," Logan advised. "Just keep your head down and dance tonight. That's all you need to worry about. I'll walk you out of the party myself. No one'll bother you."

"It's not me I'm worried about being bothered," America shot back. "I can handle myself."

"Would you trust me _just_ this one time?" Logan said with a touch of heat. "You're gonna want to stay close."

"You're not my type, shorty," she said, matching his tone.

"And you're not mine," he countered. "As a favor to me — don't make me come lookin' for you." He turned to Noh and Jubilee. "Make sure all you sparkly types travel in a pack, wouldja? Keep it at that."

"We usually do," Noh pointed out with a small frown, clearly a bit taken aback by the track Logan was taking.

"She's _not_ going to have the same problem I did last year," Logan said with a determined glare. "At all."

"I just… thought she should be prepared," Noh said softly.

"She doesn't need to be prepared for what _ain't gonna happen._ "

"She also doesn't appreciate being talked about in third person," America broke in, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Well maybe she oughta cooperate an' we won't treat 'er like a freakin' two-year-old," Logan said as he turned her way, still glaring at anyone in his path.

"I would if I thought I knew what was _happening_ ," she shot back.

Logan drew in a deep breath and tried to center himself. "It's a party like last time, but sleazier. Walk away from anyone that gets too handsy or your friends die — got it? Outside of that, when in doubt, find me or Jess."

"You make it sound like so much fun," she said dryly.

"Oh, it'll be fun before you know it," Logan replied with a troublemaking smirk that held a lot more fire to it than what she was used to seeing.

She tipped her head to the side and finally started to grin when she saw the smirk. "Fine. I'll play nice for a few hours. But if anyone goes anywhere near the no fly zone, I am _not_ promising anything."

He tipped his head her way, "Fair enough," he agreed. "Do yourself a favor an' don't drink too much either, ya lush."

"Like I'd get drunk around these people," she said. "They might think they could get _away_ with something, and then I'd have to ruin my nice dress from the New Line kicking their butt."

"The line'll survive," Logan promised.

She nodded and then turned toward Noh, who looked progressively more worried and kept glancing between the two newest victors. "Alright, Sunshine. You and Sparkles here have a stylist to re-introduce me to. I've been reliably informed that she's still single," she declared, shooing him forward as she took Jubilee's arm and strutted out, head held high.

But before Noh could get to the door, Logan stopped him with one hand in the center of his chest. "Not a word about the royals' side business. _Not one damn word._ "

Noh frowned at him and took a slight step back but didn't drop his gaze. "After what you went through last year finding out at the party?"

"It won't happen to her," Logan swore, punctuating each word with a tap to the center of Noh's chest. "I'm makin' sure of that myself. Not a word, Noh. No reason to upset 'er if it's ain't gonna happen."

Noh bit his lower lip as he thought it over, clearly torn. "If you're lying to me," he said at last, "or even if you're not and you're wrong in your assessment, I _will_ find you and come up with ample retribution."

"If I'm wrong, I'm a dead man," Logan replied. "And that's the only way that I'll let that happen to her."

That got Noh to stop and just… stare for a moment. "You cannot save everyone by taking the royals upon yourself."

"Is that a challenge?" Logan asked. "Because even if that ain't the plan, I'd still do it."

"It's not a challenge; it's a statement. And I meant it. You cannot do that to yourself," Noh said earnestly. "I appreciate you looking out for her, but you just cannot change twenty-five years of this regime by yourself, Logan."

"When did I say I was working alone?" Logan asked with a frown.

Noh blinked at him before a surprised sort of smile crossed his face. "Oh."

"No drama," Logan said. "Keep it to yourself, and proceed as if nothin' could possibly go wrong tonight."

Noh seemed to size him up for a moment before his expression shifted entirely and melted into relief. "Thank you."

Logan shook his head with a sigh and looked over his shoulder. "We should get goin' before America decides you've elected to switch lines."

Noh nodded quickly at that. "She has been horrible this entire tour. It's really rather wonderful, honestly."

"And she's been missin' Jubes," Logan agreed. "So let's get the girls before we end up havin' to show up together."

* * *

Outside the building where the Capitolites were gathered for the victory parties, two black-clad boys were getting into position, explosives in hand. Their job was to blow out the bulletproof glass so the snipers could get the shots they wanted at the royal family.

Of course, having dangerous explosives in his pack was not helping Peter's nerves. At all. He and Kurt had practiced this a million times over, but there was something about having the actual, live, could-totally-blow-us-up stuff in his hands that just… didn't sit well with him.

"Peter, relax," Kurt said softly. "None of them are dangerous until we place the charges in them. You know that."

Peter nodded a few times, but it didn't change the expression on his face. "Whose idea was it to put us on explosives duty again? Because that… that is the best idea ever. And by best, I mean the worst idea. _Ever_."

Kurt had to grin under his mask at his friend. "Peter, have a little faith in yourself. We're not going to explode."

Peter had been making this same argument for weeks, but every time, they all said the same thing in response — that his team seemed to have more faith in him than he did.

"That's what everyone says before they explode," Peter pointed out. "Nobody _thinks_ they're going to explode, Kurt."

"And how lucky that we don't think that _you_ will explode either," Kurt replied, his smile obvious in his voice.

Peter shook his head again but tried to take a more calming breath. "Okay… but if I blow up, Gwen will come after you, Kurt. Remember that."

"And she'll kiss you when you return triumphantly — remember that."

Peter couldn't help but grin at that. "Yeah, this is true," he said, nodding a few more times than was necessary as he followed Kurt, placing the plastique where they had practiced over and over again in the simulator. It was almost automatic at this point — so that much, at least, was good for his nerves.

"This is the first step, Peter," Kurt reminded him as they worked carefully — one setting the putty-like explosive, the other adding the triggers as they went.

"I know," Peter said, a bit more seriously now that they were settled into their pattern. He paused and glanced over to the buildings, the taller ones out in the distance that he knew were exactly the kind of rooftop perches their friends would be using. "You worried?" he had to ask.

"I try to make it a habit not to be," Kurt said carefully. "But I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't."

Peter nodded at that and didn't say anything further, though he was glad that Gwen was already at the new base with most of the kids from this year's Games for the big move. He cleared his throat and pressed his face to the glass window as the boys took a break to wait for the fifteen-minute patrols that Quill had told them about to pass by their position. "I can't see Logan yet," he said, slightly muffled with his hands cupped around his face to see better through the mask.

"We're not supposed to be looking for him," Kurt said, though Peter knew that Kurt was doing the same thing.

"Yeah, well, 'not supposed to' doesn't count for anything when we're _rebelling against authority_ , Kurt. That's — that's some serious cognitive dissonance you got going on there, buddy," he teased.

Kurt shook his head and chuckled a bit under his breath. "Yes, well, if following the rules will get us all back in the same room together? I'll try. For now."

Peter grinned back at him. "Yeah, that's true — gotta get back to everyone waiting for us in our shiny new home sweet home." He paused. "D'you think we'll have windows this time?"

"We can only hope, but I doubt that will be possible until Tahiti is publicly known," Kurt pointed out.

"When that happens, I'm getting a huge window. I mean ceiling to floor. I don't even care what the view is like; I just want a _view_ ," Peter whispered as the fifteen-minute break ended and they got started moving again. "I won't even use the door, either. I'll just take me and my web-shooters, and out the window we go down to breakfast."

"I hope you can do just that, Peter," Kurt laughed.

"We should get you and Kate one too," Peter continued, already picturing how it was going to be. "I just can't decide if you need purple or blue drapes. Maybe both..." He trailed off in his planning out loud as he spotted a little group entering the party — America and Logan and their sparkly stylists all together. He nudged Kurt in the ribs with his elbow. "Hey. Wolverine at ten o'clock!"

Kurt immediately turned to see where Peter was pointing, and he couldn't help but grin when he saw that it looked like this time, at least, Logan was surrounded by people he liked, if the fact that Jubilee was _clearly_ teasing him was any indication. He couldn't see or hear what she was saying, but Kate had worn that exact same expression so many times that Kurt couldn't possibly mistake it. Logan responded to Jubilee with a perfectly straight expression, and both Jubilee and Noh-Varr took slight steps back with dramatic looks of shock as America burst out laughing with her hand on Logan's shoulder for support.

"We are _clearly_ missing out on the fun," Peter said forlornly, emphasizing his point by pressing his hands and face against the glass and doing his very best impression of a sad little spider left out of the loop.

"So let's finish the job so we can get them back," Kurt said, though he watched the little group as they melted into the crowd before he moved a muscle to continue.

* * *

Bobbi was the first to meet up with America and Logan with a sly smile on her face. "So. You ready for that dance, or do you need to warm up first?" she asked America.

The bushy-haired girl from Twelve broke into a huge grin. "You kidding? If I don't snag you now, this one will make sure I never do," she teased, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at Logan before she grabbed Bobbi by the arm with her other hand, pulling her out toward the dance floor with a pleased little laugh.

Logan watched her go with a watchful eye before he gravitated toward where Jess and the others were already starting to gather. He made sure to pick up a drink on his way, though he had no intention to drink it — at least, not more than a sip or two. There wasn't much being discussed, but that wasn't too far out of the new norm. It seemed like there wasn't much the victors had to say anymore even in a group, and good cheer was harder to come by. It was enough to let the royals think they were getting their desired outcome — since it seemed all of the victors simply didn't want to chat with each other, and for all intents and purposes, they all looked miserable.

There really wasn't any noise from the group gathered outside of the occasional clink of ice on the inside of one glass or another, and the group as a whole was pretty somber until it looked like America was done with her dance, and then the every one of them made an effort to at least fake it for her sake, seeing as she had no idea what was going on.

She was red-faced and grinning from all the dancing she'd been doing — it really was her favorite thing to do besides punching idiots who deserved it — when she sidled up to the group and grabbed Logan's drink out of his hand to finish it for him. She glanced over the group and sighed. "I can't dance with all of you at once, but so help me, I will try. If I have to do it, so do you."

"We were discussing the best way to ditch you," Logan teased.

"Like last time?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Definitely _not_ like last time," Jess muttered.

America shrugged her way. "What do you say, Spider Woman — wanna dance? I was going to try and snag Peter from the royals, but his _wife_ is all _possessive_ apparently," she said, pulling a face.

"I'd love to," Jess told her with a smirk. "Just don't dip me this time, alright?"

"Spoilsport." America grinned as she took Jess by the arm and led her out to dance her heart out. After all, she'd rather dance with the victors — and a few stylists — than _anyone else_ at this party.

Coulson was watching over the crowd and waited until America was back out on the dance floor and positively laughing, before he approached the group of victors to check in on them. "You should be dancing," he told them. "Or mingling at least."

"Jess is dancing," Sam pointed out with a smirk.

"And the rest of you look like you're ready for your own funeral." Coulson looked around the group and then out to the two dancing. "At least pretend like you're having fun before you get an official warning from the princesses. You guys know the drill. Get with it."

The gathered men all shared a look and broke their little knot up, slipping into the crowd — all of them hoping to mingle rather than get dragged out on the dance floor, though Sam made it a point to slip off and ask GoGo for a dance so he could spin her into America when they got close enough.

Naturally, most of them didn't get very far before someone or another took each of them out to dance, and every one of them put on a practiced subtle smile — or approximation thereof — for their dance partners.

Logan had glanced over to see how America was doing and decided to intervene when he saw Honey Lemon clearly trying to grill America with increasingly more hilarious results, including the dip that the much-shorter America pulled on Honey instead of an answer to her attempted grilling. As soon as the song ended, he let his partner go and got almost all the way to them — to the point that the girls had seen him coming and Honey had given him a friendly little wave — when Viper slipped in front of him and pulled him back, away from the horrible interrogation attempt.

Logan tried to back out of it, but Sarkissian simply wasn't having it. Instead, she stepped into him for a closer dance with a satisfied sort of smile. "You really shouldn't waste your time getting attached to the bubble-headed casualties of war," she whispered low.

"Rather them than the snakes," he replied evenly.

She shook her head with a sneer on her lips. "We'll see how things stand by the end of the night," she said smoothly. "But I can't imagine anyone but the _best_ will be left standing."

"That'd make the whole thing move a lot quicker," he replied — though not quite agreeing with her.

And while Logan was preoccupied trying to keep a bit of distance from Viper — and failing to do so — America found herself facing down one of Marvel's most famous faces.

She had been all set to steal another dance with GoGo, who was more than entertained by Honey's attempts to be a good friend and vet her new favorite dance partner… but Uatu had stepped right into her path with the kind of smile that made America want to punch him. She glanced toward GoGo before she let out a long and put-upon sigh that had the smile slipping as she made it clear just how much she did _not_ want to dance with him — even as she let him lead her out.

"You must be excited to get the night started," Uatu said in an energetic tone.

She raised an eyebrow at him but shrugged all the same. "Hey, dancing I can do," she said simply. "But some partners are more fun than others," she added, glancing over her shoulder pointedly toward where he'd stolen her away from GoGo and Honey.

"Oh, I'm sure of that, but I wanted to catch you before the night got too long."

"I'd argue the point, but you're kind of right," America admitted, still without really looking his way. "I wouldn't have had time for you later."

"No, I'm certain you wouldn't," he replied in a bit of a chuckle. "But it's good to see you in high spirits."

She turned back his way with an almost genuine grin. "Like I said — dancing I can do."

The newest victor and Uatu passed by Logan and Viper in their dance not thirty seconds before Logan found himself with a new partner — as Nebula cut in with a withering look Viper's way.

Nebula was sure to place his hands on her waist with a sneer and put one hand on his shoulder as she started the dance with him, clearly leading. She guided him past the most influential people, though when she saw Uatu and America, the sneer turned into more of a smirk. "Tell me — does it bring back memories? After all, that was you just a year ago, blissfully oblivious," she said in almost a low purr.

"Probably not as many as it should," he replied, though he was careful to keep the anger out of his tone.

"We considered sending my brother out to clue her in, but I really think it's more _effective_ coming from me, don't you?" she said, clearly building up to something; she was almost smiling over the idea.

"I'm not sure it matters much who it comes from," Logan admitted.

"Of course it does," Nebula said, waving a hand. "That's a memory that never leaves — and how easy to make such a lasting impression of fear."

"Wasn't the impression I got from it," he replied, holding her gaze.

"Further proof that it matters who initially delivers the message," she replied.

"Go ahead and think that, if it makes you feel better, Princess."

She paused and seemed to lose her self-satisfied smirk for a moment before she reached up to try to cup his chin, her eyes sparkling with malice that only intensified when that, for the first time, got him to pull back away from her touch. "Denial," she whispered softly.

"No."

But the one-word response seemed to delight her, and she leaned in closer to share her plans. "You know," she said in that same venomous whisper, "there were dozens of requests for tonight, but we took _extra_ care in selecting the first. Especially considering the temper tantrum she threw during her tour."

"Not going by the highest bidder?" Logan asked through gritted teeth, his temper simmering past the boiling point at her words.

"Not for _this_ one," she said, clearly enjoying herself now. "Though admittedly, Tivan's offer was substantial…"

At that, Logan stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her in open shock, no longer caring about keeping up the facade. "You're joking, right?"

"Oh no," she said, delightedly, squaring herself up and enjoying his fire. "It's a done deal — and as I understand it, he's quite _pleased_ with the prospect, considering how their interview went last time she was here."

Logan was already shaking his head. "There is something _seriously_ wrong with you." He took a step away from her, shrugging her hands off of his shoulders.

Her eyes flashed for a moment as she stepped toward him. "I _own_ you — you don't get to say a _word_ against me," she practically hissed.

"I'm sayin' it anyhow," he growled back, glaring at her in unrestrained loathing. "Not just no but go to hell, piss off, die — take your pick, but don't you even _think_ about touchin' me again unless you're ready to lose your hands."

The pure fury was plain enough to see in her expression — as well as the shock. "I'll make you regret this," she practically hissed as she pulled back to backhand him, regardless of who was watching, even as the Nova Corp around the edges of the party were suddenly more alert to the situation and moving a bit closer.

But she had to stop cold when Logan simply caught her wrist in an iron grip and advanced with a near growl. "What did I say?" She tried to pull her hand back from him, but he flat wasn't going to let her go, and he kept crushing down on her wrist the more she tried to get her arm back.

But with the free hand that Logan didn't have, she reached for her hip to pull a long, jeweled dagger, clearly intending to punish him for the insult herself. The Nova Corp was watching warily from a distance; none of the personal guard wanted to get between Nebula and a fight if that was what she wanted.

Of course, the moment she pulled a weapon on Logan, it was clear to the scattered SHIELD agents in the room that the plans were suddenly moved up. _Now_. Coulson was close enough to catch the show and wasted no time before he shouted the first command when he saw the long dagger flashing at the center of the dancefloor.

"Move. Now!"


	21. Viva la Revolution

**Chapter 21: "Viva la Revolution"**

As soon as Coulson gave the comment, well-dressed SHIELD agents and victors alike sprang into action, even as the Nova Corp, taken off-guard, tried to rush to form a protective wall around the royals. They were even more thrown off, however, when the glass all around the plaza blew out and rained down on the dance floor in a deafening explosion that knocked several people to the ground, while others were hit with shards of glass.

As soon as that happened, it was clear to the Nova Corps that they were simply too exposed, and they rushed to usher the royal family out of the area. This was no small task, either, as Ronan was clearly ready to join his sister in the fight, and Gamora already had both of her blades out. Thanos, however, was content to let the Nova Corp shepherd him out, his focus on snarling out threats against Peter Quill as the closest victor, though he was surprised when several Nova Corp members simply crumpled in front of him as snipers took advantage of the busted windows and fired at the royal family.

Gamora was hit in the shoulder with a long, black-feathered arrow, and even Thanos took a bullet in his armor as the Nova Corp rushed them off. Ronan, his gaze still on the fight between Nebula and Logan, was knocked to the ground by one of the guards before another black-tipped arrow could strike him — aimed for his head — and the Nova Corps that weren't ushering the royal family out returned fire on the snipers' positions.

And the fight between Logan and Nebula heated up fast. She got progressively more angry — first on realizing that he was _stopping her_ and then at the far more irritating fact that he was keeping up with her without once dropping his gaze from hers. She thought she had him for a moment as she brought the knife across, but again, he caught her arm — only to twist it backward until she'd dropped the knife.

"You really don't want to play knives with me, Princess," Logan rumbled in a low growl before he hit her with a left hook that sent her backward a few steps, stumbling to the ground for a moment — but just a moment.

She launched forward and kicked at his head — which would have worked a lot better had he not simply caught her foot after the second kick and pulled her off her feet. From the ground, she managed to retrieve her knife, and when she got back to her feet again, she had no intentions of holding back.

She was inches from him as her lips curled into a sneer. "When I'm through with you," she said, though she was panting, "you will _beg_ me to kill you. But I won't give you that pleasure — not until you've seen everyone you love fall at my feet." She took another swipe at him that had more fury to it than aim. "It's a shame, really. You collect them, don't you? Dead girlfriends. Such a waste. Silver Fox, the Bishop girl ... I'll have to kill that annoying stylist. And of course, that sad little excuse for a SHIELD agent who thinks she can play at _my_ level."

Logan glared that much harder and with a curled up lip made up his mind to send his claws into her shriveled-up excuse for a heart — when an arrow whistled past his ear and into Nebula's chest about three inches left of her heart. He glanced over his shoulder for an instant but didn't have time to look for the sniper before the gunfire started from the Nova Corps, trying to find the shooter by sheer volume of ammunition thrown their way. In the pandemonium, he rushed forward and knocked Nebula's knife loose again before she could recover from the chaos.

He grabbed the arrow shaft and twisted hard as he leaned in closer to her. "I won't make you beg," he whispered. "I just want you to _die_." With that, he held his fist between them, pressed hard below her breastbone, popped one single claw through her heart, and twisted his wrist. Before he could retract it though, her free arm came up and sank her _other_ dagger into his back, between two ribs.

She smiled at him for an instant before he withdrew the claw back into his arm, and she went limp — though she did _not_ manage to yank her knife free. She was still smirking when he followed her to the ground a few moments later.

* * *

All three snipers from the Tahiti group had come into position well before the party got started, and while usually, the trio was a chatty one, they were observing strict radio silence. Not one of them wanted to accidentally give away the game before the revolution they had been planning for and hoping for for over a year finally happened.

But that didn't mean the comms were silent, as Quill's contribution to the revolution effort was _incredibly_ handy. He had managed to bug all four members of the royal family, so all three snipers were listening to the conversations as they took place. It was an incredibly handy way to keep track of where the royals were if they ducked out of sight from the windows.

Kate's stomach was already twisted listening to them preening, and she had switched the feed in her ear from Gamora whispering to Quill the moment _that_ started up just in time to catch Nebula as she started her dance with Logan.

There was still about an hour before they were expected to start, so Kate figured she would settle down to listen in and have her friend's back, even if he didn't know that she had it.

Of course, when Nebula started to detail to Logan her threats against America, Kate felt her entire mouth go dry.

No one had told the Tahiti kids about what was really going on with the victors…

She swallowed hard and shifted from simply listening to what was going on to actively tracking Nebula's path, changing positions on the rooftop to do so.

She got angrier and angrier the more she heard what Nebula had to say. _No one told her_. No one had told Kurt or Peter, either — or _they_ would have told her, and their team could have busted Logan out of this… this…

She was furious beyond thought as so much of what she and her friends knew seemed to fall into place, thanking her lucky everything that they were moving _tonight_ so America wouldn't know any of the royal's twisted side business. So she almost missed it, too caught up in her own fury, when Logan caught Nebula's hand, stopping her from striking him.

That was it — there was no coming back from something like that. An open, obvious slap in the face from a princess, particularly one that was stopped…. Kate was already stringing her arrow as she saw Nebula lose her temper, and a moment later, the glass blew out. Kurt and Peter had clearly seen what she had and moved to have their friend's back.

Both Clint and Wade immediately started to lay down fire, trying to get at the rest of the royal family and leaving Nebula for Logan — but Kate kept tracking the blue-skinned woman, her arrow nocked and ready. It didn't matter that Logan was doing _fine_ with his fight; she was going to make sure this was one fight he didn't lose.

And she was perfectly content to let him fight it too — right up until the moment Nebula promised to kill everyone he loved, including Skye.

Kate wasn't sure if it was the threat or the fact that her own name had been used against Logan, but whatever it was, she'd had enough of listening and finally let the arrow fly. She tracked its path long enough to see that she'd hit Nebula — though it wasn't the kill shot she'd wanted. It was still a good shot, considering the movement of the fight and the fact that Kate was almost too mad to see straight.

And the Nova Corps returned fire.

* * *

Noh and Jubilee had been dancing together and half watching Logan with Nebula when the fight broke out — though by the time Nebula drew her blade, they had long ago stopped actually dancing and were just… shocked and staring, as were most of the other guests at the party. Particularly since when one of the princesses were out on the floor, no one dared not pay attention to them.

A well-dressed man came out of the crowd to shout for someone to "move" even as the chaos erupted all around them, and both Jubilee and Noh kept a tight grip on each other's hands as they looked for a way out of the crossfire. There were Capitolite civilians rushing for exits without regard for anyone they had to push past to get there, Nova Corps taking shots at anyone who looked like they might be dangerous... The well-dressed people who were coming out of the crowds to fight looked like everyone else, so the Nova Corps appeared to be shooting at _anyone_ , which of course did nothing to ease the panic level that was skyrocketing among the Capitolites. Several people looked as if they'd been entirely prepared for the fight, but the stylists ... most were in the throng of people trying to get _out_ and to safety, though a few were desperately looking for their victors.

The Seven and Twelve stylists definitely fell into the latter category as they pressed toward where they'd last seen America, at least — meeting GoGo in the chaos as the wide-eyed newest stylist pulled them both by the arms toward an overturned table.

"Have you seen—" Noh started to ask, but GoGo shook her head quickly.

"No — what about Honey?"

"No," Jubilee admitted, shaking her head. "But I'm sure she's here. There are SHIELD agents everywhere."

GoGo looked frantic for a moment as she peered out from around the table, though she almost immediately withdrew again as a fight between Rhodey and a couple Nova Corp guards got too close for comfort, knocking into their table and startling all three of them.

"What is going _on_?" GoGo asked the other two, but neither of them had any idea, so they both had to shake their heads, completely at a loss, even if Noh was already considering what Logan had said to him before the party.

A Nova guard went crashing down in a heap close by where they were, and that had the three stylists glancing around for an escape as SHIELD agents and Nova Corp traded blows and bullets far too close for comfort.

Seconds after a Nova Corp guard went down right in front of them, Jessica Drew seemed to simply materialize as she joined them — her dress torn and her shoes discarded. "You guys ready to go? Because it's time to get out of here."

"I couldn't agree more," Noh said, looking frazzled but incredibly relieved.

"What about everyone else?" GoGo asked. "I mean, not that I'm not glad to see you…"

"We're moving out. Sam is helping get the rest of the _good_ stylists out," Jess answered.

GoGo nodded and glanced at the other two. "Lead the way."

The group stuck close together, dodging between mini battles of SHIELD and Nova Corps. Frankly, the stylists were a bit surprised at who exactly _was_ a SHIELD agent — and how aggressive they were.

They were almost to the exit — where honest to God actual SHIELD _troops_ were holding off the Nova Corps — when Noh spotted Honey half hidden behind a pillar and positively terrified.

He hadn't thought it through before he found himself switching direction to head her way. Of all the stylists there still, he wasn't going to let sweet little _Honey Lemon_ get caught up in this madness when there was a chance for escape. Besides, he had always been fast — he was sure he could catch up to the girls once he got to Honey.

He hadn't quite reached Honey when he watched a pair of Nova Corps guards discover her hiding place, and she looked even more terrified as one of the guards pulled her out from around the pillar. In a burst of speed, Noh caught up to them to sock the guard in the jaw — with far better form than when he had hit Victor Creed over a year ago thanks to Black Bolt — and he seized Honey by the hand. "We need to get out of here," he told her as the two of them rushed for the exit — though Noh's heart sank when he realized he could no longer see Jess or the other two women through the mad rush of SHIELD troops and Nova Corps all around them.

"There's a door this way," Honey suggested, her eyes wide and clearly terrified as she pointed to the right. Both of them made a dash in that direction — only to run into more Nova Corp as reinforcements for both sides were arriving.

Before either of them knew what was happening, they were surrounded by a sea of yellow, the business end of a Nova rifle inches from each of their faces, and both of them quickly put their hands up in a gesture of surrender.

* * *

In the midst of the chaos of the battle raging around her, Melinda May was trying to get to where she had seen Logan go down. He had taken a hit before he killed Nebula, and she knew it, and she wasn't going to let him die on her before she could tell him exactly what she thought of him deciding to start the revolution early.

She had honestly been itching to get it started, and Logan was not going to get away with remaining unthanked, especially given what she'd heard in her earpiece about Skye.

The problem was she wasn't the only one trying to get to Logan. There were plenty of Nova Corps ready and willing to finish the job Nebula had started, so by the time May caught up with him, it took all of her focus just to fight off the yellow-hatted guards — there wasn't enough space to clear a path without running into someone else trying to kill her or Logan.

"Where is he?" Fury shouted from a short distance out — it turned out she wasn't the only higher up looking either.

"You three o'clock," she called back as she disarmed a Nova Corp guard who had been rushing for her and shot him in the chest with his own weapon, still frustratingly making little progress on her own.

Fury quickly lightened her burden by shooting the four nearest Nova Corp to her. "Hurry up; I can use some cover getting this one out of here."

She gave him a dry look as she pressed the advantage he'd given her. "What do you think I was doing?" she shot back even as she emptied the Nova Corp weapon on the guards who tried to get between her and Fury and Logan, even as the director put his shoulder under Logan's for a moment to get him more squarely upright.

"Seemed like you were taking your time," he replied as he readjusted how he was propping up his pet project. "Did you see what went wrong?"

"I heard," she replied.

"I heard too — but I was _told_ it was a hell of a show."

"Ask one of your snipers when we get back. Nebula's got one of their arrows in her, so I'm assuming they saw it," May replied, tossing the empty weapon and grabbing up another two from a couple fallen guards.

Fury had just pivoted, supporting Logan, when he was shot in the arm — though had he not pivoted, he would have been carrying honest dead weight.

May shot in the direction that the gunfire had come from, but she didn't see who the shooter was, and she came up frustrated before she turned to the director. The two shared a wordless glance before they poured on more speed to get out of there, too exposed in the chaos for either of their liking.

* * *

When the fight broke out between Logan and Nebula, at first, the other royals were simply amused. It was by far the most entertaining thing to happen in at least twenty years. But when it was glaringly apparent that Nebula wasn't flat out _winning_ , and the gunshots started to ring out — it was time to go.

It should have been no surprise that Peter Quill was caught in their crossfire of insults and accusations tossed between the royals as soon as the assault started, though Quill wasn't sure at any point who it was that was making the worst threats. He was, after all, a victor, and since _all_ the victors had been seen fighting against the Capitol, there was really no way he could argue he wasn't involved.

He thought that he was in trouble when Ronan grabbed a hold of his arm to start dragging him along as the Nova Corps guards rushed them out of the fight. He knew what his brother-in-law was capable of, and the malicious glint in Ronan's eyes told Peter that the renowned torturer was already coming up with ample retribution for the death of his favorite sister.

But when Ronan relinquished his hold on Peter so that Thanos could get a grip, he knew he was totally screwed.

"Show them the price … let them see what their short futures hold," Thanos was muttering, his eyes wild — which had Peter convinced that he was going to die screaming.

He tried to pull his arm out of Thanos' grip, but he didn't seem to be making a dent, and the further they went, the more Peter was convinced that SHIELD wasn't going to get him out and that he was a dead man walking.

They were deeply into the palace, the halls sounding more and more like tombs as the locks echoed among them until Thanos simply shoved Quill into a room that he'd never seen before. Bare from floor to ceiling, no windows and only the one door, which was being guarded by Ronan and two of his own personal assistants. Once that door was closed, though, leaving Peter alone and panicking badly, all of the pandemonium outside fell silent — and Quill realized quickly that it was a totally soundproof room.

So it was that much more terrifying when after what felt like an eternity of solid silence, he started to hear screams leaking through the door. He backed across the room when someone was slammed against the door on the other side three times — and with each hit, he could hear a little more from the other side as the seals cracked.

Gunfire, shouting, and anguished, blood-curdling screams sounded from the other side and had Peter losing what little blood was left in his face. But he still wasn't expecting to see Groot open the door, looking positively murderous until he realized that Quill was unharmed. He gave Peter a little smile that was the complete opposite of the earlier intense look and stepped back so Quill could leave.

When Peter stepped out of the room, he was shocked to see that Groot's little furry friend was attached to Ronan's shoulder and viciously tearing into him. He could see that Drax was completely surrounded by Nova Corps and shouting wordlessly as he dove into the fight. The trail that Drax and Groot had left in their wake of people who had tried to stop them was impressive — and slightly unnerving — though Peter didn't get the chance to ask what had happened or how they even knew where to _find_ him before Ronan tossed the mangy little raccoon across the hall and stalked their way, pure murder in his gaze.

Even with that, Peter was surprised to see Groot match Ronan's glare, every bit as angry. Quill had never seen Groot so _furious_ as the tall man drew back a fist and simply hit Ronan hard enough to stop the blue brat in his tracks, knocking him against the wall. Some of Ronan's lieutenants rushed to help, but Peter met them there, leaving Groot enough space to work as Ronan scrambled to find his trademark hammer to use against the unrelenting victor, though he never did manage to get a good grip on it, not with Groot moving surprisingly quickly to toss Ronan like a ragdoll into the wall.

When Ronan hit the floor, Groot didn't stop — grabbing him by the foot to simply drag him closer and lay into him. As Peter tossed one of Ronan's lieutenants, he saw now that Groot was totally unarmed — he was clearly intending to beat Ronan to death with his own two hands.

Seriously, he had never seen Groot like this before.

And as Groot went for Ronan, bleeding and panting, Drax got a very rude awakening as Thanos reappeared with a sneer on his lips and looking more furious than any of them had ever seen him. It was clear the president was ready to make all three victors suffer, and he was back to muttering to himself about what he was going to do the whole time he stalked toward the fight.

Drax started toward Thanos with a roar, clearly eager to take on the monarch, but he simply wasn't prepared for the sheer force that Thanos himself commanded. What looked like it could have been a fairly well-matched fist fight quickly devolved into an absolute beat down as Thanos simply decimated Drax.

The first punch that Drax landed didn't seem to even stun Thanos, and he returned the hit with enough force that it made the witnesses to the fight wince. It was obvious from that early on that Drax was outclassed.

When Drax fell without so much as a shout, it was such a shock that it stopped Groot and Peter both in their fights, both of them wide-eyed. They had simply never seen anyone able to match Drax in a fist fight — especially not when he was in a rage like he had been in Peter's defense.

Both remaining victors were open-mouthed and still — and sitting targets for Gamora, who _shot_ Groot in the chest, using none of the usual pageantry with swords and blades as she usually would go into a fight with, instead looking absolutely furious.

Groot fell back with the hit, away from Ronan, who was by that point unconscious anyway, and Peter was sure that he was next as he met Gamora's gaze ... and she turned away from him to shoot at the mangy raccoon instead.

He let out a breath that was equal parts disbelief and relief before he ran to Groot and felt for a pulse, pleasantly surprised when he found one, barely fluttering beneath Groot's skin like a leaf in the breeze.

But when he looked up again, it was to see that Thanos wasn't done with Drax. Before Drax could find a way back to his feet, Thanos crouched over him and simply beat him to death barehanded with a few too many unnecessary earth-shaking blows. He looked up at Peter, who was positively frozen in pure shock, with Drax's blood splattered across his face and malice in his gaze. "Capture him."

Peter backed up a few steps from Groot, clearly on the edge of a complete blind panic as the remaining Nova Corps began to gather, but as one of them approached him, a shot rang out, and the soldier simply crumpled as more shots were fired from who knows where.

The Nova Corps rushed to protect Thanos and Gamora — those that weren't already dragging Ronan out, anyway. But naturally, the royals didn't want to leave without their victor, and they simply joined in the fight to get to Quill first. All while Peter put every ounce of grit he had left in him to drag Groot toward whoever was shooting at the Nova Corps — not even caring who it was as long as they could get them _out_.

"Yeah… no. No, not going anywhere with you unless it's for _divorce papers_ ," Quill said Gamora's way, shaking his head and clearly terrified. But if he was going out, he was going to say _something_ before they dragged him away kicking and screaming...

Within moments, the black-clad operatives entered the scene, close enough and fast enough to have pushed back the Nova Corps — not by sheer number, but instead by incredible skill. Which was impressive as it was, considering there were only four of them. It was enough to get the Nova Corps in full retreat, their focus now on getting the royals out before either of them could be shot — again.

"You okay?" one of the masked men asked Peter's way as he stepped forward to lay down fire.

"You act like I even _know_ the answer to that question," Peter said with the panic obvious in his voice.

"You're fine, then," the tall man said easily moments before he was shot himself — and Quill found himself staring at an unmoving, black-clad body.

Another shot rang out, and the group instinctively ducked, but Quill heard the shout that meant someone had been hit — about half a second before one of the black-clad rescuers returned fire, and Quill saw a black-and-green-clad _someone_ hit the ground. Not dead, but badly hurt. A second soldier, better hidden, grabbed his companion by the ankle and dragged him to cover — freeing up the rest of the group to get moving.

The black ops guy that had fired those two shots on the black-and-green interlopers in rapid succession turned to Peter and shook his head. "If you're not hurt, get up, get moving; I've got Groot," he barked out. Almost in demonstration, he heaved the tall victor up on his own before throwing him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. "RUN!"

Peter didn't need telling twice as he followed the three black ops men and Groot back down the hallway, surprised when he didn't need to tell them where to go. They already had a path picked out — and knew exactly where _not_ to go to avoid capture.

Well, at least all his intel work had been good for something. Even if it was getting him out of the nightmare that he'd had to be in to _get_ that intel.

When they were loaded up in the transport, they'd all gone through a device that must have destroyed trackers and mics, since the ring Peter was wearing felt like it buzzed for a moment. The guy that seemed to have done all the heavy lifting was the first to take his mask off. He ran his hand through his wavy brown hair and then offered his other hand to Peter. "Nice to meet you," he said. "Sorry we were late."

"Yeah. I'm just glad you weren't late- _er_ ," Peter said, still a little stressed and not quite down from the terror of what he knew Thanos and his kids had wanted to do to him. Not to mention the pure shock he was still in from losing a good friend like Drax, right in front of his eyes.

"Well, technically _we_ were on time," the guy said. "But _someone_ started the party early. I'm Maverick, by the way."

"Peter Quill," he said, suddenly feeling very tired. "Is ... ah ... your buddy going to be okay? And Groot?" He gestured to where Groot was stretched out on the transport alongside the unmoving black ops body, and one of the other black-ops operatives was struggling with his shoulder where the black-and-green surprise had tagged him.

"The one that walked out will probably be fine," Maverick replied. "The other one is dead."

"Sorry," Quill said.

"Don't be; it happens. Part of the job. But, for your safety, you're considered dead now too," Maverick replied. "By order of the director. The announcement will go out as soon as you're safe at base."

Peter almost smirked. "Yeah, wouldn't want to tell the world I'm dead — and then for me to turn out to be actually dead."

"That is not a concern with the crew you'll be bunking with," Maverick said with a smirk. "Hope you can hang with a younger crowd."

"Hey, I'll take alive and babysitting over … just about _every_ thing else that's an option with the royals right now," Quill said.

Maverick smirked to himself and leaned back against the wall of the craft to rest until they finally made it to the new base. As the transport began to land, Maverick pulled his mask over his face and offered another to Peter. "No one knows who you are, and no one will. Put on the mask and the black suit and _try_ to have a little swagger. My team has a _reputation_ to uphold."

"Swagger. Right. I have _no_ idea what that looks like," Peter joked as he pulled on the mask.

"From the tapes I've seen lately? You need work," Mav teased.

"Not a fair sample," Peter shot back.

Maverick laughed and before the hatch opened he put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Do _not_ speak until you get the all clear, got it?"

"Strutting and silent. Got it. Good to know the past few months were good for something," Peter muttered, nodding along.

When the team got out of the plane, Maverick led the way as medics rushed on board for their injured team member and to retrieve Groot. Two halls down, the last member of the black ops team headed off to a debriefing room, while Maverick led Peter through more layers of security than he'd seen in action at the palace — and it was all he could do not to say something about that fact, too.

He was taken past armed guards — several of them — and after a little stretch of particularly bleak-looking hallway, Maverick opened the double doors that led to a bustling medical bay — with several faces that Peter was quite sure should not have been there.

"Welcome to Tahiti," Maverick said. "Life after death for the victims of the Avenger Games — and you are the first to know now that the revolution is in full swing." He clapped him on the shoulder. "Go get checked out — and don't talk to anyone until Fury clears you."

He didn't think he _could_ speak anyway, totally shocked into silence as he looked around the medical bay. He hadn't memorized all of the names and faces of the kids in every Games he'd mentored — that would have been emotional suicide — but he recognized several. Bobbi's kid from last year laid out — he'd clearly been shot. Another girl that looked like Kate Bishop from last year … a guy that looked like a kid from Eleven a couple years back getting his shoulder seen to...

He watched as doctors and nurses made over each of the kids on gurneys — and in the middle of the mayhem, one of the medical personnel made her way over to him. "Are you bleeding? Broken bones? Dislocation?" To each of the questions, Peter shook his head. "Head trauma?" the pretty doctor asked, and again, he shook his head. She paused and tipped her head to the side slightly. "Waiting on Fury then?" she guessed, and when he nodded, she took his arm and pulled him over to a different place to sit. "I don't have enough beds to give you one unless you need it, new guy. He'll be in shortly. As I understand it, he's getting stitched up on the other side."

Peter nodded and settled in to wait, though as he did so, he was surprised to find that the kids he was half-sure he was hallucinating were watching him with strange looks themselves. The longer he waited, though, the more he was convinced it was the uniform, as a few more kids trickled in with less severe injuries wearing black uniforms that didn't look like the one he had on at all.

So he'd been rescued by an elite force. It was kind of nice to know that Fury cared enough to make the effort.

Most of the kids were settled out or cleared to go ... wherever they went … by the time Fury arrived — his arm in a sling and a very tired expression on his face. "Why don't you follow me to a debrief," he suggested as he simply turned and led Peter to a different area of this super-secret wing. Once the door was closed, Fury turned to face him. "I take it you were uninjured?"

Peter nodded and then remembered he could talk now. "Yeah ... Groot and Drax got there before I could get totally screwed."

"Then I suppose you have a few questions before I assign you a tour guide," Fury said as he moved to start reshuffling a few papers in the folder in front of him.

"Yeah. A few. You could say that," Peter agreed, nodding a few more times than necessary. He wasn't even sure where to _start_ , but being allowed to speak freely for the first time in months had his mouth moving faster than he could put thoughts together. "Like, for starters, did you _really_ raise the dead, or is this a psychological warfare kind of thing?"

"It's a little more complex than simply _raising the dead_ ," Fury replied. "But yes, essentially. Those kids have been watching your back for months. They developed the bugs you and Logan placed in the palace that got us started on moving forward after all that time, and frankly, they were some damn good backup and infiltration tonight. You're in good company."

Peter let out a low whistle and leaned back in his seat, feeling more and more exhausted as he thought it over. "Perfect place to stash a dead victor, then," he said at last.

"No one going into this place is going to tell, and precious few even know that are not residents of the Tahiti project. You're safer here than you could be anywhere else."

Peter nodded thoughtfully before he had to ask, "Did you bring back any of my kids? From Five ... or... my year?"

"Rogers, Danvers, and Jones are here," Fury said. "We tried with Barnes — but it just didn't take."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean — didn't take?" Peter asked.

"It means that it's not a perfect process, and sometimes, it doesn't work," Fury replied.

Peter stared at Fury for a long moment, still trying to wrap his brain around it, before he finally just let out a frustrated noise. "You could have _told_ us."

"With you in the palace? Married to Gamora? Come on now," Fury said with a little glare.

"Okay, maybe not me, but you gotta know it tears us up sending kids out to die, and if we'd known… if we'd known there was even a _chance_ …" Petter shook his head. "You could have told us."

"Would you have been able to pull off a convincing impression of a desperate mentor?"

Peter glared and crossed his arms. " _Maybe_. I was getting real good at desperate for a while there, in case you didn't notice."

"But not in the way you would have needed to be. Those that knew were some of our better actors — so you won't be totally without peers. Rhodes, Morse … Xavier and McCoy …"

"Oh come on. You told Bobbi and Rhodey? And not me?"

"You got no game face, Quill," Fury replied frankly. "Never have, probably never will."

"Now you're just being hurtful," Peter said. "If I didn't have at least some game, you'd have been found out, and I'd be very, very dead."

"You're right at that," Fury agreed. "You got some of the best game when it comes to looking petrified and not wanting to say a word. Corner market even."

"Hurtful," Peter repeated, one hand on his heart.

Fury had to chuckle as he got to his feet. "Come on, I'm going to need to get Coulson's debrief. In the meantime, let's find you a tour guide."

Peter nodded his agreement, only too ready to find wherever his assigned sleeping quarters were and pass out. He was crashing hard after everything that had happened, and he was barely holding it together with a few jokes and sheer force of will.

Finally, they reached the new living area, where a few kids were gathered and waiting to hear news of their friends.

"Jones, Pryde," Fury said, and in an instant, the two girls on the couch looked up. "If you ladies would be so kind — Quill here needs a tour and directions to his new quarters. He'll be staying here in the Tahiti program until further notice."

Quill was still getting used to seeing dead kids around the place, but a couple years' worth of Capitol-induced reflexes had him smiling and giving both girls a quick little wave before the rest of his brain caught up and he half rushed over to Jessica first, stopping short of hugging her only because he remembered she didn't like to hug — or be touched.

"It's _great_ to see you," he said honestly, then glanced over at Kitty as the smile turned more genuine. "Both of you. I had _no_ idea…"

"How ironic is it that the one guy that _didn't_ die to get here looks like death warmed over?" Jessica deadpanned as she gave him a clear once-over.

"Hey, don't knock the look. I rock everything," Peter said defensively before he glanced down at himself and grinned sheepishly. "I only _almost_ look like death warmed over."

"There are clothes available," Fury said before he turned his attention to Kitty. "Do you know if Coulson is through talking to the rest of the operatives?"

"He might still be with Kate," Kitty admitted. "All three of the snipers are in the med bay on some pretty serious medication, so… it was taking a while."

"Perfect," he said, nodding to himself before he simply turned on his heel and headed toward the medical bay at nearly a jog.

Jessica looked between Kitty and Quill with a sideways glare and then simply stepped back. "You know what? I think you can handle this one on your own. Just … be gentle. He just got out of a _really_ bad relationship."

"Just think — right now she thinks she's a new widow," Peter said, and saying it out loud had him almost smiling in disbelief at his luck.

"At least she's got a reason to wear black all the time now," Kitty teased.

"Well _I'm_ not going to," Peter said, then glanced down at the uniform. "As soon as I get out of this. I'm thinking…. Reds and browns."

"Jeans and t _-s_ hirts are the norm around here," she said. "But I know that there was a flock of stylists rescued, so I'm sure that there will be other things soon."

"Oh, hey, good. I'll have to find out from someone if they got MJ and the sparkle brigade out," Quill said, starting to brighten up. "They're good people."

"Yeah, okay," she said, shaking her head. "Let's get you into something less … tactical … and then I'll show you around, okay?" She led the way, though she kept glancing at him every now and again until she showed him the available rooms — and the room that held a literal stockpile of different sized clothes. "I'll just wait out here," she told him before she closed the door and giggled to herself.

When he emerged again, he felt a lot more like his old self, in jeans and a brown tee shirt and red jacket. He smiled Kitty's way and spun once, arms outstretched. "So ... less like death warmed over, right?"

"Definitely," she agreed with a smile. "Want to meet the crew, or …"

"Well, I heard something about a tour?" he said. "Which … is impressive, since I'm about 95% sure this is new. Outside the Triskellion…"

"I've been here for a few weeks," she admitted. "Secret location, smarty pants. Outside of the Capitol."

"I wasn't exactly paying attention when we came in," Peter admitted. "There was a lot of fighting… crazy revelations… death and destruction… adrenaline through the _roof_ …"

"That's okay. The point is that you're here now, right?" she said with that same bright smile. "Can you handle being told how it is by someone so much younger?"

Peter paused and seemed to think about it. "Yeah, I guess so," he said, though he was wearing a teasing grin. "You're not _that_ much younger, pipsqueak."

She turned and put her finger in the middle of his chest. "You want me to throw you again?"

"Too easy; I'm lighter than I was last time you did it," he shot back.

"Then I can get better distance," she replied, grinning wider.

"Good point," he laughed — the first time he'd done so in _ages_. He took a step back from her pointed finger and then gestured down the hall. "Alright, great warrior kitty — show me what's what."

She laughed and reached over to take his arm. "I won't throw you yet," she promised before she started to lead him down the halls.


	22. Debriefing

**Chapter 22: "Debriefing"**

"Futzing … ugh! … Get out of my way!" Kate's voice echoed down the hallowed halls of Tahiti, drawing attention to her from more than just her close friends and medical staff as they tried to help her.

"Kate, you need to relax, or you're going to pull your stitches," Coulson said as he walked into her room, where she was just starting to regain some steam from the heavy sedation she'd been under for her to even _get_ her stitches. "The medical staff is still busy patching people up."

"No, I _won't_ ," Kate said, though she did make it a point to rearrange herself all the same, only really relaxing when Kurt put a hand on her shoulder to try and keep her still. "No, because I'm fine. Really. I'm doing _much_ better now."

"You only think you're fine because you're on drugs," Peter pointed out — doing a terrible job of pretending he wasn't laughing. "And it's hilarious. Please keep going."

Kate leveled her finger at Peter. "You-u-u-u don't get to laugh because _you_ weren't there and _you_ didn't hear all the terrible horrible awful no-good very bad _crap_ from the stupid blue princess before I _totally shot her HA_."

Coulson looked between the two boys before he turned back to Kate with a concerned look. "What did you hear, Kate?"

Kate seemed to realize Coulson was there all of a sudden — even though she'd just been talking with him — and turned his way with an accusatory glare. "Did you — did you know — did you _know_ about what that evil overgrown blueberry was making Logan _do_?" she demanded.

Coulson tried very hard to keep his composure, but it was clear to the boys at least that it was taking a lot of effort to do so. "We did."

"Why didn't you STOP it?" she demanded angrily. "Did you know — they were gonna make _AMERICA_ … with TIVAN!" she said, getting louder and louder by the moment.

Coulson looked a bit taken back by that bit of information. "I … they all had to do things of that nature," Coulson said, deciding on the spot that there was no reason not to clear the air now that it was behind them. "That's why I sent you in to bug their families — so we could get them out. The victor's loved ones were being used as leverage — and we didn't know how to stop it. And by the way, America Chavez was never going to have to deal with it. That's in large part the reason the attack was moved up to when it was."

Kurt and Peter glanced at each other, their earlier amusement at Kate's very high state completely gone. "My aunt was on that list," Peter said quietly. "Luke told me."

"Yes, she was," Coulson replied frankly.

"That's why Nebula was saying… she was all," Kate paused, frowning, trying to come up with the right word. " _Possessive_. But I mean, like… not like … territorial. No. This was ... controlling and ' _I own you_ ' possessive with Logan," Kate continued. "She even _said that._ And he didn't straighten her out. Until she started talking about Tivan, and then…" She broke into a wide grin all of a sudden. "Logan gave her what-for."

"Why would Peter's aunt be on a list of people to control victors?" Kurt asked. But almost as soon as the question was out of his mouth, he seemed to understand, and her turned to Coulson with narrowed eyes. "She was there because of Logan, right? That's why she was on that list, isn't it?"

Coulson looked between the three kids for a long moment, from Kate's anger to Kurt's quiet but building fury to Peter's shock. "Yes, it was." He let out a breath and readjusted his tie. "Logan doesn't have much in the way of family in Seven — not that he cares about. So the Capitol… looked elsewhere." He made sure to meet Kurt's gaze as he added, "All three of your families were on that list, I'm sorry to say."

"What was so important that they needed that kind of leverage on him?" Kurt asked.

"Total control," Coulson told him frankly. "You saw it with victors like Quill — do you think he wanted to be anywhere near Gamora? Or that Logan wanted to be stuck having tea with Nebula? With that kind of leverage over every victor, the royals could make them do _anything_ to protect the people they cared about."

"All that so they would behave at parties?" Peter said with a frown. "That doesn't sound right."

"It's more than just _parties,_ isn't it?" Kate broke in, still slightly slurring her words. "People in the Capitol — people like _futzing Tanaleer Tivan_ — come in and they — they — they BUY victors one night at a time. I heard Logan. Highest bidder unless Nebula is _screwing with them._ " She was practically shaking as she glared at Coulson. "That's why Bobbi was in the Capitol all the time. Clint said she _hated_ it. And _that's what she was doing_ , wasn't it, Coulson? _Wasn't it?_ "

"Yes," Fury said before Coulson could answer as he came into the room. "And it's a practice we tried for years to shut down."

"Good job," Kate grumbled Fury's way. "I had a much more effective solution."

"Until your little friend came in with all that fight, none of the victors would talk about it to anyone. No one would tell us or anyone else who their leverage was," Fury replied. "Awfully hard to help if we don't have the information. And frankly, if it was you, would you want to share the details on what you were being coerced into? You gonna tell a _Capitolite_?"

She stopped entirely and frowned at him. "No."

"The system they had in place was harsh and effective," Fury said. "It only got worse when the princesses took over. Tivan _never_ would have had a shot if not for that simple fact. She would have had to deal with the same thing every other victor had to put up with and go with whoever paid the most."

"Tivan was gunning for _my best friend_ ," Kate said, still furious about it.

"And he's on Hill's hit list. When you heal up, I'd be happy to arrange for your team to handle that one if you like."

"Sign me up," she said without hesitation, the fury obvious in her gaze.

"Uh ... maybe ask her again when she's not on drugs," Peter broke in.

"No, no. He came after my best friend, and he is gonna _die_." Kate crossed her arms — or tried to — then stopped when she saw the IV, frowned, and settled into a deep glare instead.

"I need to know what Nebula had to say," Fury said. "What finally tripped Logan's switch, because that wasn't easy to do. I personally have seen him put up with stuff thrown his way that was so twisted I know for a fact I couldn't have let it stand — but _never_ has he lost it like that."

"He was barely keeping it in. Right up until she tried to get all… in his face to tell him about Tivan and America," Kate said, pulling a face. "And even then, he was just telling her where she could stick it — _she_ was the one that pulled a knife on him." She beamed delightedly. "Couldn't land a hit. Little blue prick."

"So she started it," Fury said, his head tipped just a bit. "Not at all surprising."

Kate nodded. "She was _so mad_ because he told her to back off. So, so, so mad. I mean. Hissing devil levels of mad," she said with relish.

"Seems like Logan has that effect on women that have tried to handle that particular angle of the victor's lives."

Kate nodded a few more times. "Well, he didn't even really get _pissed_ until she said she was gonna kill Skye," she said matter-of-factly.

"She was mentioned by name?" Fury asked, suddenly looking more interested as he leaned forward. '"And was she the only one?"

"Nope and nope," Kate said, shaking her head. It was obvious she was working hard to remember the details as she narrowed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Uh, she was, it was something like, 'that sorry SHIELD agent' or something…. Something about playing on her level?"

Fury frowned and turned to Coulson. "I'm going to want Stark to go over our systems personally. I want encryption levels that will cripple anyone trying to get in or trace back."

Coulson was already nodding along to everything Fury said. "I'm on it."

"Miss Bishop," Fury said very patiently. "Can you tell me all the names? So I can be sure that everyone that _needs_ to be safe _is_ safe."

She nodded enthusiastically and started to list them off on her fingers. "I mean, some of us are already dead; she was just throwing me in his face and Silver Fox too, but there was a stylist? And Skye-the-SHIELD-agent? That was when I shot her, by the way," she added proudly. Her words were still slurred, but she wasn't about to let anyone forget that she'd stuck one of the royal family members with an arrow.

"So you don't know for sure if there were any others," Fury surmised.

"Well, she was listing girlfriends, so I _hope_ there's not any others," Kate said completely seriously.

"If you read the papers, we have all _kinds_ of problems," Peter said in a purely sarcastic tone, though he quit teasing when Kurt gave him a _look_.

Fury nodded to himself and started to leave before Kurt had to ask: "Is there a reason you're asking Kate and not Logan?"

"He's not awake yet," Fury replied frankly. "Before it was over, Nebula managed to stab him. He needed a little surgery once we got here."

"He was STABBED?" Kate shouted, trying to sit up to get out of bed, which had Kurt slightly distracted trying to keep her from getting up again — and pulling her stitches. And they had been doing so well keeping her seated while she told her story.

Fury let out a breath as he watched Kurt trying to keep her prone. "He didn't know about Nebula's second dagger. He found out about it after he got her through the heart."

"But he's alright — or he's going to be?" Peter asked, his eyes wide.

"He should be, yes," Fury said with a nod. "She didn't pull it back out after she stabbed him — that on its own slowed the bleeding down."

"Pshaw. Even _Steve_ knows to do that now," Kate said with a dismissive wave, then glanced down at her own chest as if she thought she might see a group of arrows sticking out of it again.

"She couldn't hold on to it," Fury said with a shake of his head. "She was near dead when she nailed him." He had to chuckle at her and the dismissive way she was considering Nebula. "She _is_ dead, by the way."

"Of _course_ she is. Me _and_ Logan got her. Duh," Kate said as if this was obvious.

Fury headed toward the door, though he did pause and look back at Coulson. "I don't suppose you know where May is? I have a feeling we're going to be having a long, one-sided talk."

"If she's done in medical, she'll probably be waiting in your office," Coulson said, unable to quite stop the smirk.

"Get your team debriefs on my desk by tomorrow morning — we're already looking at a rescue mission," he told him.

"Who for?" Peter asked, concerned.

"No one — and no _where_ you are rated to go in," Fury replied. "This will probably be right into Ronan's playground."

"Oh," Peter said, looking suddenly smaller.

"Rest up; we'll be re-arranging missions as we need them with so many of our side healing up."

"AND their side," Kate corrected him, looking smug but also still louder than she probably realized she was being. "Clint got Gamora, and Wade got Thanos, and there was a WHOLE lot of other shooting going on."

"I'm pretty sure that he doesn't care much about their injuries …" Peter said.

"Well I'm just saying," Kate said. "We did good."

Kurt simply had to lean over and kiss her with a smile. "Yes," he agreed. "We did at that."

* * *

 _Early Morning January 14_

 _Undisclosed Location_

* * *

The missions Essex's team had run for Hydra had been an unmitigated failure. Not only had they failed to take out Fury, Hill, or even one of the victors, but they had failed to kill any of the royals or to snatch Quill from their possession for Hydra. His sniper had been shot, but not too badly injured, and another member of his team was only living because Hydra's body armor had stopped the bullets from penetrating all the way to his heart.

And as for the third — the Summers boy was unharmed and had even gotten Rumlow out of the palace, but that was the only thing he _had_ done. He hadn't once fired his weapon, and what was more infuriating, he looked _smug_ as he sat across from Essex to detail what had happened in the Capitol that night — the only conscious member of the team. For the moment.

"Why didn't you offer support to your teammates?" Essex snapped at the boy. "You failed to do your job at every turn but the last."

"I _did_ support my team. I got them back, didn't I?" Scott shot back, his arms crossed.

"Yes, but they would not have been in such bad shape had you simply offered them the support you were ordered to," he snapped.

"Another team got there before us," the boy argued. "My _partner_ was more focused on killing them than on the mission objective. _That_ is how he got shot. If he'd focused on rescuing Peter Quill, this would be a very different debrief."

"And seeing as he was your team leader, perhaps you should have followed his lead."

"I disagreed with his call," was the response in a tone that clearly said that should have been enough to explain everything.

"You have no respect for the chain of command," Essex hissed.

"Definitely not _this_ command," the boy said with a sharp glare.

Essex narrowed his eyes at that. He had been wary of putting the boy out in the field, considering his determination to back-talk and fight his superiors every step of the way, especially when he thought he had a better idea on his own. But he had hoped that after all this time, that problem would be at least resolved enough that the boy could run something as simple as an extraction. It was even something that Scott would approve of: a rescue.

Clearly, the boy required a firmer hand.

"Who were the interlopers?" Essex demanded.

"I don't know," he replied. "They wore all black and covered their faces — could have been ours if not for the lack of green."

"You act as though I don't know that you have an incredible eye for details — including their voices and the way that they walk," Essex said slowly, as though he was walking the boy through it. "Are you certain that you have not seen them before?"

The boy nodded, arms still crossed. "I can honestly say I don't know who they were."

Essex watched him for a moment. That answer, at least, was one that he believed. "Go back to your _room_ ," he said with a dismissive wave. "I'll tell you if you're _allowed_ on another mission."

With that, the boy simply stood and left, still glaring as he pushed past the door and leaving Essex deep in thought. The boy had potential, but he was willful to a fault. And unless he wanted Hydra to step in with this one as they had with Barnes, he would need to take a firmer hand.

* * *

 _SHIELD Base One_

* * *

The hospital room where Logan was recovering was positively full — not only with the doctors and Fury but also Hill, Coulson, May… and even Skye. Though she maintained that she was there first, so she wasn't leaving.

When the doctor forced through the drugs to get Logan to finally wake up though, Logan didn't seem too bothered by the crowd as he cracked one eye open and got growly with them. "Turn the lights down," he mumbled. "And go'way."

May got up to turn the lights down, but none of the others moved. "We can't do that just yet," Coulson told him frankly.

"You were right there when this thing started; we need a debrief," Hill added, armed crossed. "You moved early."

"Am I in _trouble_ , Miss Maria Christina Hill, Assistant Director of SHIELD?" Logan asked with his eyes closed, though he turned his head toward the direction of her voice. "You know. More … than getting stabbed and shown exactly what worth Fury puts on 'his' victors?"

"We need to hear what happened, Logan," Hill said, looking annoyed by the full-name address.

"We only have bits and pieces of intel," Fury admitted. "And our best source outside of you is more drugged than you are."

"Why did they get more?" Logan asked with a little smirk.

"Three bullets trumps one stab wound," Coulson said with a smirk of his own tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I'll just have to be a bigger target next time."

"How 'bout you don't?" Fury said with a scowl as he shook his head. "Just tell us what happened with Nebula."

Logan nodded slowly and drew in a deep breath. "So, the little witch started pushing my buttons. Told me who she had picked out for Miss America. So I told her where she could stick her stupid big fat blue head. More or less."

"That fits with what we know," Coulson said with a little nod.

"Now ... go'way, Nicholas J. Fury, Director of SHIELD … and company," Logan slurred. "You're bringing the room down."

Fury frowned his way. "You've only told us what led up to the fight. Not how it started or what went down."

Logan looked up at him and let out a weary breath. "How specific do you want?"

"More is better," Coulson said.

Logan frowned deeper and fruitlessly shifted the way he was situated, though it was clear the movement had done nothing, and he looked pained. "Alright. She pushed to get my hands lower, and then she reached up to touch my face — but I didn't let her. And when she got mad, I told her off. After that, she _tried_ to backhand me, but … I wasn't about to let that happen. So I put an end to that nonsense." He paused for a moment, and his head tipped back involuntarily. "Ya know, that idiot started a knife fight with me. With _me_." He looked up at Fury very seriously. "I considered that an immediate threat on my life, even if she didn't have a real shot, so I kicked her ass and stabbed her in that shriveled-up black peach pit of a heart." He held up one finger. " _One_ claw. No one saw it."

Fury relaxed his shoulders the slightest bit, and Coulson nodded beside him. "Thanks, Logan," Coulson said.

"One more thing," May broke in quietly.

"Anything for you, my darlin' Melinda Qia-"

May put a hand over his mouth and met his gaze with a serious expression. "Stop that," she told him. "Please."

Logan held her gaze, and both of them nodded once before she cautiously removed her hand — though she kept it close, ready to stop him if he started up again. "Just for you, darlin'," he agreed.

Fury and Hill glanced at each other with only barely contained surprise, though May didn't seem shocked at all as she nodded at Logan. "I need to know about Nebula's threats. Specifically. Who did she mention?" she asked him, stone-cold serious as her gaze slid to Skye and then back.

Logan frowned and thought about it for a long moment. "Jubilee and Skye. Neither by name, but description. Everyone else she mentioned is already dead." His tone was matter-of-fact, as if it was simply another part of a debrief, though after that, he frowned to himself.

May nodded once, and it looked like the senior SHIELD agents were satisfied — but Skye was positively dumbstruck. "But — but she didn't say my name," she muttered, not looking at either Coulson or May.

"I'm sure someone recorded it … somewhere," Logan said as he leaned his head back. "But you — you were so so _so_ wrong."

"I was _not_ ," Skye said, her arms crossed over her chest.

" _So_ wrong. You should have listened to Coulson, because you were _waaaay_ off, sweetheart," Logan said.

"We'll get out of your hair, then," May said with a little smirk as Skye looked thunderous and Coulson seemed vindicated.

The senior members of the group were already headed out as Skye insisted, "It doesn't even matter now, does it? Because we started this thing — so _ha_."

"Except for the fact that if they knew it," Logan reasoned, his eyes closed, "they probably know a lot more'n that, too."

"We've already got one of our best minds looking through our intel to be sure they _won't_ know any more than they do," Hill promised on her way out, shooting Skye a little look as she did.

"I wouldn't be too cocky," Logan called her way. "I don't know what your systems were like before, but there has to be more than one reason you waited this long. Needed someone with a better grasp on it than you, Maria Christina."

"That _is_ why we called in the experts," Hill pointed out.

"Why is she still talking to me when I'm high?" Logan asked Skye, purely to irritate Hill.

"I have no idea," Skye said, giggling when Hill glared at both of them and stalked out, closing the door behind her — though as soon as the door was closed, Skye leaned over to give Logan a kiss.

"What's that for? Didn't do anything yet outside of sassin' a couple people that were askin' for it."

"Which was hilarious — but what makes you think I need an _excuse_ to kiss you?" she pointed out.

"I don't … have an answer for that." He frowned and started to move over to make room, wincing as he did so.

"That's because I'm _right_ ," she said triumphantly as she climbed in beside him, though she was incredibly careful and aware, trying not to jostle anything that might hurt him worse.

"No, it's because I can't think straight enough to come up with a decent answer."

"Mmm, gonna have to disagree," she said. "You debriefed just fine, big guy. You can't admit I'm _right_."

"That's because you were _so_ tragically wrong. It carries."

"It's okay, Logan. You can say I'm right this time. It won't hurt you, I promise," she teased.

"I'll need more painkillers," he said, still straight-faced, ignoring her commentary.

She smirked at him and rolled her eyes before she leaned down to steal another kiss. "You're just being difficult on purpose," she accused him as she snuggled in on his good side. "Go to sleep."

"Hey. Just 'cause I'm already passin' out doesn't mean I'm doin' what you say," he replied thickly before he carefully kissed the top of her head and pulled her as tightly as he could with one arm.

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing of the New SHIELD Base_

* * *

Peter Quill wasn't at breakfast that morning, simply because he was dead to the world asleep. And it was _amazing_.

He hadn't been able to get more than a few snatched hours of sleep for _months_ , not with the royals making sure that either he wasn't allowed to sleep or he was too badly shaken to get to sleep even on the brink of exhaustion. So now, with his freedom firmly intact, he slept all the way through until lunchtime before he finally headed down to the cafeteria Kitty had shown him the other day where he started to pile on food. Sleep and a good meal, no royals, no one telling him what to think every second, good company… this was _great_.

He had just sat down with his lunch when the doors opened, and of course, he was more curious than he was hungry — only barely — so his head came up to see who was coming in. He was sure he still hadn't met everyone, even if Kitty had been sure to reintroduce him to his former Five tributes before he totally zonked out from the comedown of the rescue and the exhaustion of the months before that.

Even so, he was totally stunned to see someone from _his_ Games, considering the fact that everyone he'd met so far had been from the two most recent ones.

What's more — it was _Jan_. The girl from Seven that he'd teamed up with in the arena. The one who was so stubbornly optimistic it had honestly gotten him through the Games for the better part of the last half — before she died, of course.

He stared at his old Games ally for a long moment before he positively _sprinted_ to the other side of the room and scooped her up in a spinning hug, laughing in disbelief by the time he set her down. "You look _amazing_!" he told her, grinning at her before he hugged her again.

"When did you get here?" Jan asked, beaming at him.

"Last night," he said. "I'm still getting used to all… this." He gestured around the place. "It's really great to see you again, Jan."

"Yeah, it's great to see you too. Though I'll be honest, I kinda hoped it wouldn't be on this side of the security."

"Oh." Quill held up both hands with a smile. "No, no. No — I didn't, um — no, I'm not part of the used-to-be-dead club. Still very much alive ... though... " He looked around. "That part's still hard to believe."

"Shouldn't be that hard to believe," she said with a little smile. "Hank Pym's on the team."

"Hey!" He grinned at her. "That's great news! I remember you talking about him all the time!"

"Yep! We're married now — happily. On purpose."

"No way." He grinned at her and seized her left hand to see the little wedding band there. "That's great news, seriously. Congratulations."

"Oh, and _mazel tov_ on your impending … widowing, I hope."

His grin slipped a bit, but he kept right on nodding. "Yeah. Sooner than later, let's hope," he said, though he did make it a point to show her his now-bare left hand. "You could say we're separated."

"Yeah, just took a whole SHIELD unit and the black ops team," she said with a little laugh. "Or half of it anyhow."

"I have one heck of an estranged wife, and an even worse set of in-laws," he told her seriously.

"I heard about Drax," she said with a frown. "Sorry about that. I know you liked him."

The smile fell entirely as he thought of it. "Yeah," he said quietly. "You know ... Thanos killed him himself. Bare-knuckled."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "I .. I didn't know that part."

"Never seen anybody take Drax on like that," he admitted. He paused and tried to right himself. "But then again, I saw a lot of things I never thought I'd see. Dead kids coming to life… Groot on a murderous rampage… it was quite the night."

"Well, eat up. It looks like you could use it," she told him, putting a hand on his arm and giving him an encouraging sort of smile.

He nodded and straightened up a little more, tugging on the end of his jacket with one hand as he gestured to his still-uneaten tray with the other. "Care to join me, Mrs. Pym?" he teased.

"I would be delighted, Mr. Quill."

With that, the two of them headed back to Quill's seat, with Jan filling him in on the details of the wedding and other stories so that he was eating, not talking, as the rest of the kids started to file in — at least, those that weren't in medical. Though he'd already seen the ones in medical, so this was a whole new group for him.

He was almost done — and Jan was running out of the basic "overview" news — when Kurt and Peter came in, late to lunch because they had been visiting Kate, and Quill broke into a huge grin on seeing them.

"Hey, Jan, did they bring the whole team back?" he asked Jan, thumbing over his shoulder at Peter and Kurt. "Because if they did, that would be _awesome_."

"Oh yeah, they sure did," she said with a giggle. "Had to have the whole set."

Quill grinned wider at that and waved at the two boys. "Kurt, Peter, care to join us?" he called out, still riding the high of his good mood at, well, everything from being rescued to having slept for twelve hours straight.

Of course, the two of them shared a strange look and immediately made their way over to say hello, looking hopeful.

"Oh man, Logan is going to _flip_ when he sees you two," Quill said delightedly. "Or ... three I guess. Where's Kate?"

"In medical," Kurt replied. "She was shot last night."

"Right, yeah — sorry. So much of last night is just…." Quill made an explosion motion by his ears, complete with sound effect.

"Yeah, that's … how the notes look too," Peter agreed.

"So they're merging the sides, then," Kurt said with a little smile at the corner of his mouth.

"What sides?" Quill asked.

Kurt frowned. "Well, you wouldn't be here unless they were letting the rest of the victors in, right?"

Quill paused and lost some of his wide grin. "Oh, well… I don't think…. I don't know. I was told I'm officially 'dead', so this is where they send dead people…" He shook his head. "I'm sure there's more coming, right? I mean, Fury told me you already have a few victors who knew before I did."

"Bobbi and Rhodey," Kurt said. "They train with us."

"Yeah, and Charles and Hank," Quill said, nodding. "I already got the official 'stop by and see me' from ol' Charles. Which, admittedly, I probably need, all things considered, but don't tell him I said that, because I really don't want to."

Kurt and Peter shared another look between them that turned into a frown before they pulled their attention back to Quill. "We were hoping for more," Peter admitted.

"You were hoping for Logan," Quill surmised. "Sorry I'm not him," he added sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Are you sorry you weren't him last night?" Peter asked, trying to lift the mood. "Killed Nebula with Kate on his six."

"That ... I'm _really_ sorry I missed that," Quill said. "I didn't know he killed her; I just know he got a hit in and then I was swarmed by Nova Corp. That's great news — one less royal to worry about!" He was grinning by the end of the sentence, clearly _genuinely_ relieved at the news.

"Apparently, she was trying to rile him, and it worked a little too well," Peter said. "Rookie mistake. There's a fine line — and you have to know how to _balance._ That is the key, really."

"Well, you probably haven't heard, but Ronan's in rough shape. Groot nearly beat him to death with his own two hands," Quill said, and though he looked proud of his friend, he was frowning at the memory. After all, it reminded him… "Thanos got Drax, though."

"He _what_?" Kurt asked, a bit wide-eyed.

"Yeah. He beat Drax to death bare-handed," Quill said in a subdued tone. "Gamora shot Groot, too — I don't know if he made it."

" _Drax?_ "

"Believe me, I was there, and I still have a hard time believing it," Quill said. And that much was true. It still felt more like a daze than reality. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have been wearing probably the same expressions as the two boys in front of him. "But the president just… _lost it_. Tore into him like I've never seen…" He shook his head. "I would've been next if not for the guys Fury sent in after me."

The two boys shared a look at that. "None of us went in that close last night," Kurt said.

"No, no," Peter corrected. "Luke and Mike went with the super secret death squad."

Quill had to chuckle at the name — it was incredibly accurate. "Well, the super secret death squad got me out of some _serious_ hot water," he said. He paused and took a breath. "Do you know ... if your friends came back last night? One of the guys on that team didn't make it."

The boys shared a look, and both of them nodded solemnly. "Mike Petersen," Kurt said. "They told us this morning. He was from Eleven a few years back."

Quill frowned for a moment as he thought it over before he slowly nodded. "Yeah… I think I remember him. I'm sorry to hear he's dead. Um. Again."

"We … knew we'd lose some of our side," Kurt replied gently. "Though who it's been so far has been a surprise."

"Well, if Groot pulls through, someone's going to have to tell him Gamora killed Rocket — and I don't want to stand in his way." Quill smirked, trying to inject a bit of levity since he didn't want to think about the losses either, really. "We'll win the whole war in a day."

"I'm sure we can petition Coulson to take care of it," Peter said with a little smile. "He likes being our delivery boy."

Quill laughed out loud at that. "Yeah, sure he does. That sounds like Coulson."

"Well, if not him, we do have a go-between that seems to spend a lot of time in Seven," Kurt said with a little smirk.

"Yeah?" Quill leaned forward with a little grin. "Sounds like you guys have a whole system set up here."

"Oh, we can't," Peter said, tapping Kurt on the arm. "Mmm mmm. Nope. We have to _vet_ him first."

Quill looked between the two boys and then chuckled. "Hey, ask me anything you want to know. I'm a dead man — I've got tales to tell. Or is that not how it goes?" he teased.

"He fancies himself a buccaneer," Peter said with a horrible accent. "What say ye, Dread Pirate?"

Kurt laughed. "I say you're right — we have to question this knave," he said, drawing himself up with his shoulders square.

"We should bring him around to the Parrot Squawkeye or she'll keelhaul both of us."

"I thought she was in medical," Quill pointed out.

"Which is lucky for you, or there would be a physical portion of this vetting process," Peter said. "And besides, she's funny on pain meds."

Quill laughed. "Well, I'm up for it. Haven't had any decent conversation for months. Even a very high Parrot _Squawkeye_ would be a step up for me."

The boys shared little grins as they led the way down to the medical wing, where Kate broke into a _huge_ grin when she saw them. "Hey! My boys! You're back!"

"We brought an extra too," Peter called out. "Thought you might want to say hello!"

Kate beamed wider at that, though when she saw who it was they'd brought, the smile slipped, and both Peter and Kurt glanced at each other, sure that Quill was about to get a Hawkeye Interrogation…

Until she opened up her arms. "Peter Quill, right? I'm gonna need you to come over here so I can hug you, because I get _yelled at_ when I try to get up and do that for myself."

Quill glanced over at Peter and Kurt, who looked as surprised as he did. But he wasn't about to pass up a good hug from a high Hawkeye, so he crossed the room to wrap her up, shocked when she just … didn't let go and even patted the side of his face.

"Okay, we're snuggling then," Quill said with an amused smile. "And … you're petting me. That's new. Alright."

She patted his cheek once more with a little laugh. "Awww, Peter Quill. It's okay. You _nee-e-e-ed_ hugs. And I love hugs."

"What a coincidence, because I love hugs too," Quill said, grinning at the situation he found himself in. As if finding himself in a secret facility full of dead kids wasn't nuts enough — now he was getting Kate snuggles in front of Kurt, for some reason.

"Kate?" Kurt asked gently. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Mmhmm," she said brightly. "Come on over here, you gorgeous Elf."

"She calls you 'Elf'?" Quill asked with totally unrestrained amusement.

"Because that's his _name_ ," Kate said as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Duh."

"That … can't … that doesn't sound right," Quill said. "Because I _know_ where that came from, and if that's your nickname source … _no._ "

"It's okay," Kate told him seriously, still hugging him. "Elf just _fits_ him, doesn't it, Kurt?"

"I've grown rather fond of it, yes," Kurt admitted with a smile.

"C'mon, _Elf_ ," Kate said with a little giggle. "You know you want to hug Peter Quill. Dontcha? Because you _know things_. I know you do, because I _told you_."

"Know things?" Quill asked, looking more confused than before, though still entirely amused. "What … what kind of things do you know, Squawkeye?"

She snuggled into him for a good long hug. "I got to shoot Nebula," she said at what she thought was a whisper over his shoulder. "I heard _so many things_."

"I thought Logan killed Nebula," Quill said, looking down at her for a moment.

"Oh, he finished her off, but I _helped_ ," Kate told him seriously. "I shot her in the back because she was threatening to kill people that Logan _likes_. And that is a very, very, very, _very_ shootable offense."

"Also … probably a very short list," Quill added.

"Oh yeah. People who try that with him get dead _real_ quick," she agreed, misunderstanding him entirely, before she reached up and patted his cheek again. "And look at you, all not-back-in-black and smiley." She hugged him tighter. "I _like_ this revolution so far."

"I'm kind of enjoying it too," Quill said, though he was still curious on what Kate was talking about. "You're not making a whole lot of sense."

She leaned in very close. "I _know things_ ," she said, this time in an actual whisper. "I know all of the things. About the _arrangements_ with the _princesses_ — and I know you didn't _want_ to get married, and that's why you need _so many hugs_."

His whole expression shifted as he let out a little 'oh'. "Oh, you know _those_ things." He frowned and started to nod. "Those are not nice things to know."

"Thus the need for hugs," she said, demonstrating this by hugging him all over again. "Don't worry — I'm gonna get better and shoot the other princess too. Just you wait."

"You should save your hugs for the other victors," Quill said, unable to help the light chuckle at Kate's earnest mission to try to make him feel better. "Promise me you're going to hug them just like this."

She nodded solemnly. "Of _course_ ," she said. "But they're not here right now, and I can't _go_ anywhere to get to them."

"Would you though? Go to get them?" Quill asked. "Because … I'm kinda thinkin' that you could make sure that Henry gets a hug too. And Charles."

"Oh, yeah, but _Cha-a-a-a-rles_ has a _girlfriend_ ," she said, her eyes wide as she beamed up at him.

"Did they bring her too?" Quill asked. "Because she's _awful_ to listen to."

"Yeah, but he likes her," Kate whispered. "They write _love letters_. It's _adorable_. And I don't gotta worry about hugging Bobbi, either. Not _my-y-y-y_ job," she sang out a little louder. "Wrong Hawk!"

Quill grinned that much wider. "You guys — you know that the whole resistance is under one roof now, right?"

Kurt and Peter glanced at each other before Peter very carefully nodded. "Yeah, we got that memo."

"So … isn't it _possible_ that there could be some … oh, I dunno, _chance_ at a mistake happening?" Quill shrugged and gestured openly.

That had both of the other boys grinning. "It's possible," Kurt said with a little nod.

"We'll have to make sure that you guys are _real careful_ that doesn't happen," Quill said, nodding slowly, with an exaggerated wink.

Kate giggled at that and put a finger to her lips. "Shhh. We know how to sneak around."

"Obviously," Quill laughed. "You guys have been alive for all this time, and no one knew."

"Well, a _few_ people knew," Kate allowed. "Bobbi and Rhodey and the X man…."

"We need to let a few other people know," Quill whispered to her.

"Oh, for _sure_ ," she agreed fervently. "We gotta round out Team Awesome!"

"And someone should tell Groot the truth," he replied.

"Gotta get our Sevens," she said with a nod, then paused. "But _not_ Creed."

"Yeah, that's a whole lotta ugly no one has time for," he agreed. "But maybe … maybe it's time for you to snuggle your Pixie or whatever for a while."

"His name is ELF." She shook her head at him. "You can't — _you have to learn that_ or you're never gonna get to know _anything_." She patted him on the cheek one more time before she finally released him and looked Kurt's way. "But he _is_ right, you know. I am seriously Elf-snuggle-deprived right now."

"I think I can fix that," Kurt said as he made his way over to snuggle up with her — and she very enthusiastically planted a big kiss on him before she pulled him down with her.


	23. Farewell to the Titans

**Chapter 23: "Farewell to the Guardians"**

* * *

 _January 15_

 _New SHIELD Base_

* * *

Most of the victors and SHIELD agents were already squared away, but for a few, like Logan, who had gone right to medical, the rooms and halls were new — so May found herself as a tour guide once Simmons had signed off on releasing Logan.

He was stiff, and moving a hair slower than he was happy with — which certainly didn't help with his mood. But he did let out a little breath of relief when he saw that not _all_ the victors were lodged in the same hall. And the one that May was taking him down was set well apart from most of the rest of the base, making for quiet halls.

"You've got a few neighbors, but we're still not sure if Groot is going to pull through, so there might be a vacancy across the hall," she explained.

"What happened to Groot?" Logan asked, turning her way with a deeper frown.

"Gamora shot him," she told him frankly. "He took it in the chest, armor-piercing rounds."

"What the hell got her tweaked at him? He hasn't bothered anyone."

May let out a breath. "He and Drax volunteered to go after Peter Quill," she explained. "Drax found out the hard way that the president is just as deadly as his children — probably more so," she added, not bothering to hide the frown.

Logan stopped dead in his tracks. " _What_?"

"According to the team that went after them, Thanos beat Drax to death bare-handed," she said, fixing Logan with a deeply settled frown.

"And Quill?" Logan asked. "He's got to have a story attached to that."

May shook her head quietly and gestured at the newspaper on the bedside table. "We barely recovered Groot," she said softly.

He watched her for a moment but picked up the paper and quietly sat down on the bed, very quickly going over the headline and the attached story with as close to a neutral expression as she'd seen on him before he slipped into a deep glare and clenched his jaw. "Figures."

"I can keep you updated on Groot's condition," she said, pausing at the change that had come over him.

"Sure," he said flatly before he dropped the paper and glared around the room, mentally figuring out if he needed to take anything with him on his way out. If Fury wasn't going to give a damn about his people, then Logan figured that he'd more than lived up to his end of the deal. The damn revolution had been kicked off. He even killed one of the princesses. Seemed like a pretty good chunk of trouble covered.

He had decided that it was simply time to cut his ties with SHIELD when Skye made her appearance at his room and rapped on the doorframe. "Knock knock," she said with a wide smile.

"You lost?" Logan asked, an attempt at a tease, but he was obviously too irritated to pull it off right. And he knew he'd fallen flat — expressed easily by the breath he let out as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Umm, no, I'm pretty sure May said this was your room," she said, tipping her head to the side. "What, should I have brought cards?"

"No." He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before he looked up at her from where he was seated on the bed. "Wanna get outta here?"

"And go where? This is, like, the quietest corner of the base, except the stuff that's empty for district rebels as we find them."

"Need some air," he said, half glaring at May for a moment.

Skye glanced over at May before she shrugged up one shoulder. "Alright, but if this is a ploy to make me freeze and need snuggles, I'll have you know I'm not that easy."

"No. I need a better lay of the land," Logan said. "Be a lot easier to find my bearings if I hadn't been doped up that high when we got here. Wherever here is."

Skye grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I dunno — I kinda liked how you were really snuggly... "

"You took _advantage_ while I was high," he accused her with a raised eyebrow her way.

"Does it count as taking advantage if you would have let me sleep in your bed anyway?" she asked.

"Little bit."

"Then yes, I did," she said, settling her head on his shoulder. "But come on, let's go get my nose red and my toes cold."

He nodded. "Lead the way. I don't know where the hell I'm goin' yet."

Skye grinned and led him down the hallway until they reached one of the exits — opening out into the January snow as Skye shut the door with her heel behind her. They walked a ways out into the quiet treeline before Skye bumped his shoulder. "Okay, really, no teasing? No parting shot at May? Nothing?"

"Not in the mood," he grumbled.

"Still dopey?"

"Nope," he replied shortly. "Not even a little."

She turned to face him, the frown creases in her forehead giving away her concern. "So what's up?"

"Just rethinkin' my stance on all this SHIELD crap."

"I hope that's not a knock on me," Skye frowned.

"Depends on how tight you are with Fury."

"I always figured you were closer to him, and I had AC," she said, tipping her head to the side. "What, you guys have a falling out?"

"Nah, no one's close to him. I just finally saw what my worth is."

She frowned but stepped into him a little closer. "I hope you took into account my favorite headrest in that calculation."

"It's not any different with him than it was with the royals."

"What?" She shook her head. "No way. Those guys were — _are_ — total psychos. That is so not what SHIELD is up to. Any of it."

"Yeah, sure. Look at what Fury made Quill put up with, and how well that ended for him." He shook his head. "How long before the rest of us gotta keep up the same garbage again?"

"You gotta be kidding me," she said, shaking her head. "There is no way they'd ever start up _that_ business again. Come on."

"Why not?" Logan replied. "Seemed to work pretty well for one. Why not for the other?"

"Because that was … they were out to make you guys miserable, and nothing else!" Skye argued. "SHIELD, I mean, I know it's not as good as it should be, but you gotta give 'em credit for trying."

"Road to hell's paved in good intentions," he said slowly.

"Hey." She crossed her arms over her chest. "If we were still in the Capitol, I don't think they'd have gotten the sweet little stylists out — and no way would, like, Ronan have carried you out like Fury did."

"What are you talking about?"

"Didn't you hear about the rest of the fight after you got stabbed?" she asked. "May and Fury were practically batting people off you."

Logan frowned and shook his head. "Only thing anyone's had to say was more about askin' questions. No one's told me much of anything."

"Well, you should push for the whole story, because May and Fury are actually my new favorite team." She smiled his way and bumped his shoulder. "They totally went to bat for you. Fury even got shot _carrying you out._ "

Logan gave her a look, weighing out what she said as he watched the snow start to fall a little heavier around them. "You know gettin' much out of either of 'em is a job on it's own. And you already know what happend. So tell me."

Skye sighed and settled her shoulders. "All I know is the two of them were shooting anyone that got close, and they made sure no one could finish you off while they got a beeline on an exit," she said. "I didn't see all of it on camera, but what I did see what _amazing_."

"You have _footage_ ," he said, shaking his head. "Of course you do."

"Only a little," she admitted. "Most of it's audio, because of the bugs Quill set up ahead of us." She frowned for a moment. "He set it up, and we took on the Capitol. I'd say that's pretty heroic."

"He shouldn't have been put in that scenario. At all."

"For what it's worth, I totally agree," she said. "And… _you_ should have heard Coulson complaining and trying to shave off as much time as he could on the revolution to get him out of there quicker."

"I might have helped with that," he said quietly.

"Yeah. You did." She kissed his cheek. "I know things sucked before, but we literally just started the revolution. Maybe give us a little time before you decide we're evil?"

He let out a breath and gave her an appraising look. "What is your job title now anyhow?"

"Official cheerleader?" she asked with a little smirk.

"As long as you're not talking me into this on an 'official' level, I'll go along with that."

She pulled a face. "Puh-lease," she said, waving her hand. "You've known me for how long?"

"Just sayin' … that's a big one-eighty from terrorist to cheerleader. Uniform's all wrong too."

She smirked. "And less fun for you?"

"Nah. Shoulda guessed the future director would be like this."

She rolled her eyes. "That's not… no. Stop that."

"Did you want to fight with me in the snow?"

A slow grin started over her face as she shoved him in the shoulder. "You're on."

"What are the stakes?"

"Loser gets the sock drawer; winner picks the room."

"Sounds like the same thing either way," he pointed out.

"Exactly."

"Alright. Bring it." He took a few steps back and squared up a little bit — though it was clear he wasn't moving right yet.

She tipped her head at him for a moment, grinned, and jumped into action for a takedown that was as much an excuse for a kiss as it was an actual attempt at an attack.

He caught her before she could bowl him over, waited a second, and then simply fell backward into the snow. "Oops."

She grinned and shook her head and her hair out. "I'll take it," she declared before she kissed him into the snowdrift.

* * *

 _January 19_

 _New SHIELD Base_

* * *

It was difficult for most of those that knew the two lost victors to say much of anything when it came time for the memorial service. And it was a memorial rather than a funeral, since they were apparently unable to recover the bodies for Quill and Drax.

All of the victors that weren't laid up in the hospital were in attendance — and even those that were having trouble moving around freely were there with assistance. It was a solidarity move that even Fury was surprised to see. The director hadn't assumed that the group of them that had survived the revolution's kick off would still remain that loyal, though he should have. All of them had gone through similar trauma, and they'd held each other up when it had come down to the atrocities they'd had to endure, so this? Paying their final respects? It was a given.

Naturally, Fury had made sure that the whole affair was televised — with a two-part purpose. By showing the victors gathered up and supporting each other, the message was sent not only to the royals but to the public in general that they didn't support anything that had been happening for years within the Capitol. And it also made it publicly known that the royals had been the ones to kill the victors in the revolution, further distancing them from that regime.

It also made it possible for those in Tahiti to see how everyone was responding to the memorials, and Quill was choked up from the word go.

Every victor that had lived was there in attendance, and every one of them looked openly shaken. And when Steve saw the look on Quill's face, he made his way over to try and support his old mentor, but Quill very quickly shrugged him off and did his best not to openly let out exactly what he was thinking.

Drax was dead … and Rocket, for what it was worth. And the jury was still out on if Groot was going to make it. "Man, Bobbi's really selling it isn't she?" Quill said in a thick voice, recrossing his arms as the camera showed the little patch of the youngest victors all grouped together.

Steve nodded as he watched the coverage. Bobbi looked forlorn, though that was nothing next to how badly shaken the ones out of the know looked. Sam in particular looked openly upset, and Logan had on an expression of total resignation.

The people that didn't know Quill was still alive spoke candidly, and MJ even took a turn to say that she missed seeing the old Peter.

"The thing I'm most sorry about is that he spent the last year or so of his life in misery," she said. "We all knew how funny and _fun_ he could be. That's the Peter I want to remember."

Steve glanced over at Quill, who was clearly more emotional than he was willing to admit, but he didn't get to say anything before Warren mentioned Drax — and that was when Quill finally lost any sense of holding things together.

His head dropped, and his shoulders, and he simply put his head in his hands.

Steve didn't know what to do with that, and what little stammered words he could say seemed to be empty. He knew better than anyone that losing a close friend — a best friend — wasn't something you walked away from.

So he was incredibly grateful when Kitty stepped in, grabbing Quill by the arm to pull him aside somewhere private where she could simply wrap him up in as tight a hug as he could manage so he could let the misery and unfairness of it all wash over him for a while.

He had been going sort of nonstop for so long that none of it had sunk in — not really. There had been too much going on with the rescue and the army of undead kids…

But now, he could really feel it. Drax was gone. Groot was in critical condition. The world thought he was dead.

And more than that, he could really let him feel the weight of the months behind him — something he simply hadn't been allowed to do when the royals watched and dictated his every move.

He rested his head on Kitty's shoulder and held her tight, glad that at least _someone_ that he cared about was still around. And after that, he really didn't remember much as he more or less shut down.

* * *

 _January 21_

 _New SHIELD Base_

* * *

Logan had been up and about for a couple of days and honestly hadn't felt that odd since he'd woken up after winning the games. Simmons had told him that they'd hit him with the same meds that they'd used way back then to accelerate the healing process so he could get back on his feet faster, but all that really sounded like to him was rush it so he could get back to work.

He'd gotten himself a cup of coffee and found a quiet corner with a comfortable chair to try and get a little quiet, but he wasn't alone for too long. Not three sips in, a familiar blonde head bopped over and very nearly knocked his mug out of his hand as Elsie almost tackled him as a means of saying hello.

"You travelling alone, troublemaker?" Logan asked before Elsie settled in next to him, half hugging him to tell him how they'd _all_ come from Seven.

"And Miss Heather gave everyone suckers so we had sweets and all the little kids were quiet," Elsie said, giggling.

"Just the little ones?" he asked, a little smirk at the corner of his mouth.

She grinned at him. "Your really pretty friend got one too," she whispered before she burst into giggles.

"Yeah, you told me you got one," he replied.

She laughed and shook her head. "No-o-o-o. Your _other_ really pretty friend. The one who _says_ she's teaching you numbers, but…" She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling, "My _mom_ says that's not true."

Logan set his coffee down and leaned right back toward her. "Actually, I was teaching _her_ some numbers. And _kicks_."

She nodded seriously. "That makes _much_ more sense," she agreed.

"You happy with your new mom?" he asked.

She gave him the full force of a delighted smile and nodded excitedly. "Mmhmm. They gave us official papers that my _mom and dad_ are gonna hang up and everything!"

"You know what else that means?" he asked quietly, almost at a whisper before answering it himself, since he knew Mac and Heather hadn't told anyone still. "That means you're a cousin of mine now too."

She stared at him before she broke into a little giggle. "No way!"

"Yeah, ask Mac about it," Logan said.

Elsie leaned forward and crooked her finger at Logan to do the same until his ear was at the level of her mouth so she could whisper. "He _cried_ , you know."

"He was happy," Logan whispered back before he gave her a hug.

"Excuse me," said a new voice, breaking into the conversation, and Logan glanced up to see Kate's older sister — the dye bleeding out of her hair by now so most of it was back to blonde — as she smiled sheepishly at them both.

"Go on, punkin'," Logan said to Elsie. "I'll see you a later." Elsie looked up at Kate's sister, frowned, and then took off at a dead run in search of her new parents. "What can I do for you?" Logan asked, gesturing for her to take a seat.

Susan Bishop smiled softly and seemed to take a minute to gather her thoughts. "I just… wanted to introduce myself. Properly," she said as she sat down carefully. "I'm Susan. Susan Bishop."

"Kate's sister," Logan said with a nod. "Nice to meet you."

"And you," Susan said. She took in a deep breath and once more seemed to gather herself before she burst out with, "You — you didn't have to protect us, you know. I know what you did, and you didn't even _know_ me or my husband and just… thank you." She said the whole thing in a breath, all at once, with wide eyes.

He held up a hand to try and stop her. "You don't know…. " He stopped and took a moment to try and respond more reasonably. "Even if…. The truth is you weren't the only one I was trying to protect."

"Oh, I've met May and Margali. They're _lovely_ ," Susan said with a bright smile so much like her sister's. "And the twins are just so sweet."

Logan stared at her. For some reason, he hadn't considered the possibility of ever running into one of them, and it was obvious he didn't know how to deal with it. "Glad everyone got out," he said softly.

Susan nodded, not sure herself on what to say. "It's taken some getting used to," she admitted. "Jack and I weren't planning on ... well… any of this… but really, you should stop by any time. There are plenty of families that SHIELD is housing, and those twins of Margali's are just so nice. They've been helping me get situated," she added with a shy smile as she rested a hand on her stomach.

His shoulders dropped a bit more as he let out a breath and tried to force himself to nod, though his ears were ringing from all of it.

She smiled shyly once more and cleared her throat. "Well ... I'm sorry, I've taken up your time, and you don't really know me… I'll get out of your hair."

"It's fine," he replied, though he got to his feet to help her up.

"Thanks," she said as he gently pulled her up and then she gave him a little wave. "I'll see you around, then?"

"Seems like," he agreed, though after she left, he went the other way entirely, completely forgetting about his coffee when he went. He was still trying to process it, to deal with what he knew — that if things hadn't worked out, Kate's _pregnant sister_ would have been…

Yeah. This was going to take a minute to bounce back from. It didn't matter that it was over. He was angry all over again, and he couldn't stop it.

He had wandered down the hall, not paying attention to where he was going, and he almost didn't see Jubilee until she was nearly to him — looking harried and frazzled as she threw herself into a hug that lasted only a few seconds before she launched into a babbling, "Where have you been? I've been looking for your _everywhere_ , and no one tells me _anything_!"

"I was getting patched up," he said before he squeezed her tight. "I'm fine now."

She bit her lip and gave him another squeeze. "Well, good — then you can help me beat a straight answer out of these SHIELD guys," she said with her eyes narrowed.

Logan frowned her way and then took her hand and started to pull her down the hall to find an empty room. "Okay, what's the problem?" he asked. "I might know someone to talk to."

She drew up all her breath, the frustration obvious before she burst into, "It's been a week since we left the Capitol, and I can't get anybody to tell me anything about where Noh is or what the plan is to get him or if he's even still _okay_ or _alive_ or _anything_ or…" She let out a noise of frustration that was barely holding back the tears.

Logan looked honestly surprised to hear it — that no one had filled her in. Of course, _he_ knew all her answers, since he knew Fury's plans to go after the ones that were captured when the revolution kicked off, but he also knew enough that he couldn't tell _anyone_ or risk exposing the team he was on. "For as close as Noh was with America — and us — SHIELD has to get him out or they'll risk alienating the victors — and risk givin' the Capitol leverage," he reasoned. "But you've gotta see how crazy it is with everyone settlin' in. I heard one of the pilots sayin' they were runnin' missions non-stop."

She shook her head at him, clearly still frustrated about the whole thing. "I don't even know _where_ he is or if he's … he's…" She couldn't bring herself to bring up the possibility, and she took in a deep breath, obviously trying not to lose it. "It's not like these people…."

"He's alive, Jubes," Logan said seriously, making sure to meet her gaze so that she knew he was serious. "Give 'em a chance to do their jobs. They got hit hard by the revolt."

"I know. I know everyone did — but — but Logan, you should see what happens when I try and get answers out of these jerks. They treat me like some dumb-blonde stylist _kid_." She drew up her shoulders in an imitation of the Cro Magnons she had dealt with. "Sorry, miss, that's need to know. Well, _I_ need to know!"

"They wouldn't treat me any different," he said with a shake of his head. "Victors don't count for much."

"Well it's stupid," Jubilee spat out. "I _need_ to know he's okay."

"Let me work on it," Logan said. "Gimme a little time to get some answers."

"Don't leave me out of it," she warned, one finger in his face. "If there's someone you need to crack down on, I am _there_."

"Yeah, just like last time. Don't worry. You'll get your front row seats," he teased.

"Good." She nodded once, her hands on her hips, before she threw her arms around his neck one more time for good measure.


	24. This is No Slumber Party

**Chapter 24: This Is No Slumber Party**

When Logan and Jubilee parted ways, Logan found his way back to his room to crash. He had a few hours to kill before he'd be in Fury's office going over the latest extraction intel and prepping for the rescue mission ahead of them.

In addition to Honey and Noh, there were around two dozen SHIELD agents that they knew had been captured and eventually taken to the palace, though after that, they weren't entirely sure what had happened — or who was even still alive. But the fact that Ronan hadn't been spotted since showed that at least some of them were still alive… and bearing the brunt of Ronan's frustration

After the uprising started, it seemed that Ronan got a little paranoid himself and installed some scrambling devices in his torture chamber — just in case anyone was listening in that shouldn't be. Which meant that the bugs Quill had put in no longer worked to their advantage, and they had very little intel going in.

And Logan wasn't exactly wrong about how the mission was waiting to launch — by the time he got to Fury's, the rest of the team was just starting to trickle in, chomping at the bit to go. It was going to be a hard run, and those high pressure runs seemed to be what this group liked best. Security was insane, and the Weapon X team was fully prepared to go in and fight their way out — with the prisoners in tow if all went according to plan. If it didn't … well. Logan had already set his affairs in order, so at least Mac wouldn't have to worry about money for his flock of new kids.

The briefing was short and to the point, and in addition to the core team — fully clad from head to toe in black — they were told that Skye and another masked, blacked-out operative from a different unit would be remotely handling the security protocols for them. On seeing the new operative in the briefing room, the X team fell completely silent, as per protocol, and took their seats to review any last minute information before they headed out.

When they left the room, and the door was soundly shut behind them, Fury turned to the new operative. "You can remove your hood now, Stark," he said. "No one is getting in this room."

Tony grabbed the fabric with one hand and pulled, letting out a breath of relief. "Man, I don't know how the others wear these things _all the time_. Come on, Fury, I'm sure we can come up with something more comfortable and with a little better breathability and visibility…." He turned the mask over in his hands a few times before he set it aside. "Right. Later, though."

"You have about an hour before that team will be breaching the outer wall of the palace," Fury informed him. "Be ready for them."

"Don't worry — we will be," Skye said, her hands outstretched in front of her as she cracked her knuckles and then glanced at Tony before the pair of them set to work.

Fury had left them to get to their task for all of ten minutes before Tony had to ask. "So. The death squad. How'd you get on that assignment?"

"I really don't know," she told him as honestly as she could. "Fury pulled me into his office, and I ran with it, and it just keeps happening that way."

He made a little noise in the back of his throat and shook his head. "Funny how that works."

"Yeah, that's also how I ended up joining SHIELD, so it's really just a pattern for me," she told him, which got a crooked kind of smirk out of Tony before they dove into their work

Fury's timetable was just a tiny bit off; the team checked in to the outer wall checkpoint ten minutes earlier than anticipated and sounding like they were moving at a quick clip already as they asked for status on some land mines.

"We got those first," Skye promised. "But don't approach the inner wall until we give the all-clear. We have one last hurdle."

"Do it quick," came the response in a low whisper.

It was quick, of course — they only needed a few extra minutes, and it was the last big issue they had left to crack anyway — so when Skye called in to the team to let them know they were clear of some nasty electrical traps, she was sure to add, "You should be in the clear from here, but let us know if you run into anything new. We'll keep monitoring for any surprises on our end too. No telling what they've done since they got paranoid."

"Much obliged," the guy on the other end said before the team sounded like they were hustling faster.

"Is that the standard response?" Tony asked as soon as Skye flipped off her mic. "I've never heard that on a mission before."

"With these guys, you just learn to run with whatever," Skye said with a little smirk.

Stark shook his head and kept his focus on his work until he hit a hiccup. "Okay, that's ugly. Landmines _inside_ the palace."

"Oh you're kidding me," Skye breathed out before she went to the comm again. "Heads up — they've put landmines _inside._ We're working on them now, but don't go past sector five yet."

There was a pause before the response came back. "Alright then. We'll hold."

"Crazy, self-destructive, _paranoid_ little pampered palace brats," Skye muttered under her breath as she got to work.

Tony glanced her way with a deepening frown that shifted into an amused smirk as he started up too. "Can't have 'em 'hold' for too long. What does that mean anyhow? Already there?" Stark whispered. "Because they sound antsy."

"Yeah, it means they're there. They're _fast_ ," Skye said out of the corner of her mouth.

"Then I'll comb over the next few quadrants again while you're working on the land mines," he replied.

"Smart," she agreed, nodding without looking at him before at last she let out a little "ha!" of triumph and reached for the mic again to let the team know they could proceed.

"Thought you were quicker'n that," was the teasing response as the team moved forward again at speed.

"Shut up — the encryption was newer this time," she grumbled, though it was easy for Stark to see the little smirk all the same.

"Leave me waitin' with nothin' to do but think. Your own fault."

"Won't happen again," she replied.

"Sounds like you're in trouble," Stark said.

"With him? Always," she said, shaking her head. "You have no idea."

"Then it sounds like you're in … _trouble._ "

"You know I'm seeing someone, right?" she said, shaking her head — after all, she had to say something or she'd be giving Logan away

"Yeah, so am I," Tony replied. "Still. Sounds like it might be serious."

"Just concentrate on your work, Stark. I'd hate to have to pick up your slack while the team's waiting on _you_."

"Oh, no. That — that wouldn't happen," Tony said, shaking his head.

"You're going to look real stupid if it does," she half sang out his way.

"Going black for a few," the voice on the radio said as means of a warning seconds before they did just that, leaving Tony and Skye staring at their screens and wondering what the heck was going on.

* * *

Down in Ronan's little torture chamber, things were still in an almost unearthly way, but that wasn't going to last long. The team had arrived, and they knew that they couldn't go in with any of their tech operational or it would trip the sensors Ronan had waiting for them. And he was fully expecting any rescue team to be running massive amounts of tech. Instead, as they slipped inside, they killed the power to the room, leaving all of the occupants in pitch blackness.

There was a sound of panic from within, no doubt from one of the prisoners at the sudden darkness, and the team slipped through silently — having memorized the layout of the place well enough that they could all go through it blindfolded if need be.

If Ronan was there, he was staying where he knew it to be safe, which was to their favor. But for as good as the team was, their cover was blown entirely when Honey Lemon screamed. Maverick had touched her arm as he approached her cell and then quickly tried to hush her, muttering to her low that it was fine and they'd be out in no time.

He was halfway through picking the lock to her cell when the room was flooded with light — the product of a new auxiliary option that was recently added.

Palace guards swarmed the team en masse, while Maverick and Wraith put all their efforts into getting the remaining survivors out of their cells before they were totally overrun. With the lights came up, though, they could see the depressing reality: there were only two survivors left, and it was down to the two stylists. No SHIELD agents had survived Ronan's wrath

Sabretooth and Wolverine however, were working together with incredible success. Anyone who wasn't taken out by Creed's sheer force ended up flat on the ground by Logan's quick strikes — or the claws that most of his team believed to be part of his uniform, though he was careful to only use them one at a time in an effort to cover his tracks.

With the lights flooding the scene, both Honey and Noh could see the whole thing clearly — and Noh had half an eye on Honey despite the massive fight just a few feet from them. He didn't know any of their rescuers, but as Wraith and Maverick worked to get them loose, he called out to Honey, "Keep your eyes closed, Honey."

Honey nodded slowly as she held fast to Maverick — not about to let him go for anything when she was clearly terrified and traumatized too. Not that Noh was much better; he looked pale, his ankle was bad purple color despite the fact that he and Honey weren't shackled at the feet, and he was clearly only keeping it together so that the small team didn't have two freaking-out stylists to deal with

Beyond that, too, it was the first hope that either of the stylists had that they weren't going to be tortured to death. So it was that much more upsetting when, just as the rescue team seemed to be on the verge of cleaning the place out — Ronan appeared.

He was mostly healed, but not quite as well as Logan was, and the crown prince was furious — not just at the insult of the team breaking into his hidden dungeons but at the revolution in general — and it was clear he wanted someone's head for it all. He swung his hammer toward the black-clad operatives with a roar, and though he was off on his aim to hit Logan or Creed, he did manage to smash into Wraith's knee on the downswing.

Logan dodged the backswing before he and Creed shared a look. There was a quick nod between them before Creed headed for holding the guards back — diving into them with fearless _joy_ while Logan darted forward to engage with Ronan.

The two of them fought hard and fast while Maverick had his hands full trying to get Honey Lemon to settle down and not choke him; she had wrapped herself nearly around his neck, terrified even further on seeing Ronan and grasping for help. Wraith was still shooting guards from time to time, and looking for a clear shot to take at Ronan, but the crown prince and Logan were going back and forth fast enough it just wasn't going to happen.

Ronan swung his hammer high over his head, and as it arced through the air, Logan couldn't help himself but to dart forward inches from Ronan. He popped the claws on one hand to slice through the handle of the hammer, then used the other handful of claws to slash down across Ronan's face — deeply cutting him with a distinctive treble gash, but not quite enough to really finish the job.

It was enough, though, for Ronan to back off fast. Bleeding heavily, and half blinded by his own blood, he stumbled backward and out of a hidden panel on the wall that was in no one's specs. After that, the guards were much less willing to lay down their lives, and they started to thin on their own.

"Time to run," Creed growled out before he simply picked up Noh and slung him over one shoulder — then did the same with Wraith. "Hurry up, kid. You're our gunman, unless Maverick can manage to work with the frail hangin' on like that."

Logan looked over to the group, nodded and took off at nearly a dead run, playing point. As soon as he was one step outside of Ronan's chambers, he flipped the comms back on. "Rushing out," he said, clearly half out of breath. "Plus _two._ "

"Just two?" came Skye's response.

"All that was alive," he replied.

"Oh." There was a protracted pause before she said, "Well, the path's clear. We went back over it while you were … doing your thing."

"Good," he said, though there was another pause. "Tell Fury I've been made."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he said with almost a bark of a laugh. "Pretty sure."

"Alright. I'll let him know." Skye paused. "Just get back quick."

* * *

And back at headquarters, Skye clicked off her mic and leaned back into her seat with a frown.

"What does that mean?" Stark asked. "Is he off the team now?"

"I don't know," Skye admitted. "Maybe. Or maybe just for missions involving whoever made him… I don't do spy speak."

There wasn't another check-in from the team until they were on their jet, and then it was only a simple, "No trackers. Everyone's accounted for. Medical for three," reported from a different voice.

Skye let out a breath. "Bet I know who the third is," she grumbled to herself.

"Guess you'll find out in an hour-ish," Tony replied before he got to his feet and brushed his hands off. "Okay. My job here is done. Let me just … put this stupid thing on. Unless you can 'make' me or whatever. However that works out before you take me back to a tropical-named prison."

"I really did mean it when I said I was seeing someone," she said with a smirk.

"I know," he said, nodding for much longer than necessary. "Sure. Just saying ... whatever that spy speak is or whatever ... that's … _that's_ what I was referring to. Not..." He shook his head. "Pervert."

"Yeah. With your reputation? I'm not apologizing," she replied, arms crossed.

"Now that was just hurtful," Tony replied before he put on a more affronted look. "I'd like you to take me back, now." He crossed his arms and tried to look as if his honor had been preyed upon.

She had to smirk at his antics and rolled her eyes. "Alright, put the stupid mask on; I'll get you home by curfew."

"That's more like it," Stark replied as he did exactly that. "Try to keep your hands to yourself. Seeing as you have a thing for these blacked out types."

"I do not… just shut up and walk with me and try really hard not to say anything stupid," she said, shaking her head at him.

"You know I _need_ to figure out who these guys are now, right?" Tony said on their way out of the door.

"You and just about everyone else that works with them," she teased lightly. "That's the point of the masks — to spark your curiosity." She couldn't help but smirk to herself as she escorted him back across the compound to the Tahiti side — which, unless you knew what it was, looked like any other wall until she pulled open a panel and they went through.

Still, for Logan's sake, and for the rest of the team, she was seriously considering sending Tony on a few wild goose chases if he looked into the records. Especially since Logan had been made… he didn't need that _and_ Stark on his trail. Not with everything else that was going on.

When she got back to the briefing room, Fury was waiting and already going over the body cams. "They should be back any time," Fury told her. "Take a seat."

She gave him a tight sort of smile before she did just that, doing her best to keep the silence in the room. She watched Fury while they waited in what she knew was a vain attempt to try and get a read on how mad he would be when he heard about Logan. But she couldn't read the director — yet — so she drew in a quick breath that caught his attention before she spoke. "There were only two people left when the team got there," she told Fury.

"I was hoping for more, but I'm not exactly surprised," he muttered distractedly as he went back to his work. "I'm sure they're all still a little upset that Nebula died suddenly. Probably trying to find a way to pay us back on that."

"Yeah, well…" She paused. She didn't _actually_ want to tell Fury about Logan, but considering the risks involved… "They've got a good starting point if they're looking to make it personal. Logan was made."

Fury paused and looked up at her in an instant, abandoning the papers and the screens as he straightened up and leaned back in his chair. "Oh, was he now?"

She nodded, meeting his gaze and watching his reaction to try and gauge it, which was more difficult than she cared to admit. "He didn't say how."

"Can you show me on the screens?" he asked, already looking to see where Skye would put it up.

"No, they were blacked out when it happened," she admitted.

"That's going to make it more interesting then," Fury said, nodding before he let out a little noise and went back to the papers. "You ready to tell me your side of this operation before they get here? How did Stark do?"

"He was actually a big help," Skye said, not too proud to admit it, considering the risks of, well, _dying_ involved. "He caught the landmines _inside_ the palace before I did and a few seconds before the team hit them. The power supply to them was so minimal that it was hard to find them."

"Good; we may use him again if that's the case," Fury said nodding. "Do you know who the ones they saved are?"

"They didn't say, sorry. I can check the screens after they got out of the palace."

But before she could get into it, the team arrived looking pretty battle-worn if the torn clothes and wet blood splatters were any indicator. They filed around the table, and each of them took a seat without a word. When they got their masks off, every one of them was carrying colorful bruises already — and a couple of them had split lips. "I'm gonna need a little time off," Wraith teased. "Because I am like … 90% sure that this knee is in trouble"

"Oh, only 90%?" Skye couldn't help but tease back, though she didn't hide the look of alarm at the fact that Wraith was debriefing before medical when his leg looked … that … wrong.

"My scale may be a little wonky," Wraith admitted with a smirk. "I've never been hit with a hammer before."

"Spend more time in R&D. It's an occupational hazard there."

"Not one this big," Wraith said before he turned to Fury. "We got into Ronan's with no trouble. Went through the place in the pitch black, didn't make a noise and then that little blonde girl screamed so damn loud I thought for sure I was going deaf."

"Ronan showed up halfway through the party," Logan added. "We had the guards on the ropes, and he took out Wraith's knee, so we had to clear the room to get him and the two injured prisoners out." He took a breath and shook his head. "Too close quarters to use my gun — but I rearranged his face with some claws."

Fury's eyebrows raised slightly, though he kept his tone low and even as he continued to nod. "Good. Go on."

Logan barely paused before he simply continued the debrief at that same pace, no change in tone until he wrapped up by saying that their prisoners were injured and that they were in medical being seen to.

"Then I guess the only thing left is to take bets on how long it takes Ronan to hop on the airwaves vilifying our little stabby friend here," Wraith said with a smirk.

"Even with claw-face?" Skye asked with a weak smile.

"Sweetie, I _seen_ those cuts. He ain't hiding them anytime soon," Wraith said with a grin.

She smirked his way for a second before she turned toward Fury. "I can screw with his broadcast if we don't want Logan going public just yet," she offered.

"After all the trouble he went through to give Ronan claws in the face?" Fury said. "No. If anything, we should send him a bill for the improvement." He shook his head and looked around the table at them. "Let him go public. When he does, it'll be the proof positive that the public needs to see that the victors do _not_ stand with the Capitol."

"It's just too bad we didn't get footage of what went down with Nebula then," Skye countered. "That would have been better."

"Are you sure we didn't?" Fury replied. "That place was covered with cameras."

" _We_ didn't," Skye said. "I can try and pull what they have, but our side was just audio."

"Why don't you do that in your free time then," Fury said. "Merge it with the audio we have. It'll make a good counterpoint to whatever they try to say. Have it ready to air by Monday."

Skye looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered it. "It could take me a while to get their video; they just changed all their security…"

"Uncut audio," he specified. "Use all your resources. If you need help with the hacking, tap into the other black program. And _when_ you get it together, we'll put it out there. It's long overdue for the country to see what's been going on, what their kids have been dying for — and to get Peter Quill's memory out of the gutter." He turned to the team. "Get out of the black threads. Get seen to. And Logan, take those claws down to Fitzsimmons."

The group all got to their feet — though Wraith needed Maverick for help and they headed off to change _first_. There were enough missions going in and out that they could act as if they were on a different team — or several of them — though when Logan went back through Fury's office after he changed, Skye was waiting to join him for the trip to see Fitzsimmons.

"You haven't been to the new lab yet," she explained. "Even though they've been asking for you."

"Why?" he asked. "Gotta break in the new building with needles? Thought I had enough of those already."

She smirked and shook her head. "No, but last time you saw them, you were high as a kite, and apparently, they're worried your claws might be defective. Something about you only using the one claw?" She raised an eyebrow his way. "What, you take Ronan left-handed to do the decorating right?"

He let out a little noise and shook his head. "Nah, I slashed his face left handed, but the hammer fell in four pieces. They work fine. They _told_ me to get proficient. So I did."

"So you can use one at a time?" She grinned at him. "That's kind of cool, actually."

"Figured three would be too distinctive most of the time," he said with a little shrug. "It's easier, but I'd rather have options."

"Well, sorry to tell you, but I think the cat might be out of the bag on this one."

"I'm startin' to think that was the whole point," Logan said. "If it was to rescue agents, it would have been a lot sooner, and I'm sure he didn't send us in there purposely to pull out two stylists."

"So _that_ was who you got — the stylists?"

"Noh and Honey," he said, nodding. "Sweetest ones there are — and they had to spend a week in Ronan's place."

Skye winced with one eye shut. "They okay?" she asked, knowing the reputation Ronan had and dreading the answer.

"Noh's got a busted ankle, and both of 'em are bruised up and starving, but other than that, they just got the crap scared out of them."

Skye didn't bother to hide the breath of relief she let out. "I'm glad to hear that. I've seen the stylists around the base, and they all seem sweet."

"Another day and I think Noh wouldn't be here. Looked like Ronan was just warmin' up to play — made sure he couldn't run and made 'em both listen to him torturing the agents for intel."

"Then your timing is impeccable," Skye decided as they turned the corner and arrived at the lab, though she didn't open the door and instead gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He gave her a little look at that. "If we hadn't gotten 'em when we did, you'd be on a timeshare with Jubilee for snuggles."

"I'd only be a little jealous. I've heard America talking about their 'line.'"

"Worst kept secret in the Capitol," he said with a chuckle as they got into the lab and Logan stopped to let out a breath. "I guess I need blood tests. I got into some ick."

"Yeah, blue ick," Skye said, pulling a little face.

Simmons was the first to rush over on seeing Logan. "Fitz is still working on something — it's delicate — just give him a minute," she said in a rush as she directed Logan on where to go. "What happened _this_ time?"

"I tried to stab Ronan in the face." He raised one shoulder in a half hearted shrug. "I slashed when I shoulda jabbed."

Simmons blinked at him for a full second before she immediately started to pull materials. "Of course — that's even worse than Nebula, considering what he _does_ with his spare time… Completely unsanitary and _in your arms_..."

"He keeps it pretty clean down there, truth be told," Logan replied. "I don't think he wants somethin' as boring as an infection slowin' down his party."

Simmons stared at him for a moment, swallowed, and cleared her throat. "Yes, well," she said in a slightly more subdued tone, "we'll still need to check you over."

When she came back with her kit, he waited until she'd quit arranging things to shrug his arm out of the flannel shirt and then hold it out for her. She gave him a little smile for not waiting for her prompt before she started her tests, though once she had that going, she had to ask, "Any more problems with the claws? Were you able to use all six? Fitz thinks he can fix them if they're jammed."

"I haven't had any problems with 'em," he replied. "Who said they jammed?"

"You — you said you only used one claw when you stabbed Nebula," Simmons said. "Or ... well. You _were_ rather high at the time…"

"On _purpose_. I used _one_ on purpose, doc."

"Oh?" Simmons blinked at him and then, slowly, a smile started to creep in. "That — that is much more control than we expected! That's _amazing_!"

"And you're movin' into mad scientist again," he pointed out. "You _did_ tell me to work on control, didn't you?"

"We did, but we didn't realize… we thought... " Simmons beamed at him and reached out to squeeze his arm. "Fitz will be so happy to hear that; he's been worried _sick_ that something might have been _wrong_."

"If there was a problem, Fury'd have been kickin' in your door," Logan pointed out. "And draggin' me behind him by my collar."

"Yes, of course, you're right, but honestly, tou can't blame us for worrying. Just one claw…" She shook her head. "We didn't _know_ you'd gotten that good — we haven't _seen_ you use them!"

"No one has," he defended. "And the team thinks they're in the gauntlets."

"Well, that's just — it's just very good news is what it is," Simmons said. "Fitz will just be so _relieved…_ he'll want to see it, of course. And assess what you can do ... it's more than we thought you'd be able to, especially this soon…"

Logan turned to Skye in a mock whisper. "They're not going to let me leave until I show them, are they?"

Skye grinned at him and kissed his cheek. "And I'm not even going to be able to help you. I have some videos to sleuth out," she teased as she walked backward to the door. " _You_ are on your own."

"Usually the case," he countered before he settled in to see what Fitz had to say, and Simmons did what he was sure was a completely unnecessary round of tests and measurements. He was planning to try to reassure him that it was fine, but when Fitz made his appearance, it was immediately obvious that wasn't going to work.

"Alright," Fitz said in a decisive tone as he came into the room. "Let's just take a look at those claws, shall we?" He wasn't even looking at Logan until he asked the question, fiddling with some notes and a few tools in his hands.

"They're fine," Logan said. "Everything works. You can relax."

"No, no, no. See. I designed them to work _with_ you, and here I get reports that you're just using one, and if there's something wrong, I can't have you running around with non-functioning weapons. Not to mention the fact that I don't want it to go off without you meaning to or breaking skin in the wrong direction if there's something wonky about the mechanism or…"

As Fitz got wound up, Logan held both arms up between the two of them, curled both hands into fists, and popped both sets of claws crossed in front of his face so Fitz couldn't miss it. He retracted all six, then went down them all one at a time very slowly so that there was no sound, then again in various combination at speed. The whole time, he kept his gaze on Fitz, and when he was through, he simply retracted the claws and put his arms back down. "We done now?"

Fitz had paused as he watched Logan work the claws, but at the question, he spluttered. "No! No we are certainly not done! No, this — this is a whole new set of variables that I need to consider… I need to assess the amount of control… if it's this fine, what I've got would be… _this is completely new information!_ I don't want to hit it with a sledgehammer… no, no, it's got to be more refined…" He had trailed off by that point, muttering to himself low enough that no one could actually hear him.

Logan slowly looked from Fitz to Simmons as she stood nearby looking entirely delighted before Logan let out a breath that drew her attention to him. "No, really. Are we done?"

"Just give him a minute," Simmons told Logan as she shot a fond smile Fitz's way. "He's trying to refocus."

"Is that your way of tellin' me I broke your boyfriend?"

"You broke my partner," she corrected him.

"No, I think I got it right the first time," Logan said with a little frown. "When you two have kids, they'll have itty bitty lab coats. I've heard the rumors."

Simmons just gaped at him. "That's — you're — _who's_ been…spreading … _nonsense…._?"

"Just everyone. The two of you're locked in this room all the time. Anyone that asks you, you both always tell 'em everything you need is in the lab. They put two and two together. You can admit it. Pretty sure it ain't criminal."

"That is _clearly_ not what — this is a _lab_ , not a — you're just—" Simmons spluttered, holding both hands up and unable to come up with a good retort.

"Don't try to pin this on me, sister."

"You do this _every time_ you come in here," she accused him.

"Not every time. The only thing I do every time is bleed." He paused and reconsidered. "Though technically, this is the _first_ time I've been in the new lab ... fine."

"I hope you're not considering making it a _habit_ ," she said.

"No more than you plan on removing tubes of blood a habit."

"That's not a habit; that's my job," she countered.

"Well, picking is a perk," he shot back. "And where I come from, a way of letting people know you're at least somewhat comfortable with them."

She paused at that and looked both genuinely surprised and pleased. "Well… well, yes, that is…" She shook her head and patted his shoulder almost absently. "Fine, but please — do try not to break Fitz so often, alright?"

"Done," he said with a nod. "But I think he broke himself this time, 'cause I don't think he heard two words of that whole conversation."

"He's been working on a new project," Simmons explained with a smile. "He's very distracted lately, especially with moving and with all the excitement of the past week or so…"

"You're really makin' the case for me to leave you two to your work," Logan told her quietly.

"I really am, aren't I?" She smiled at him and went to go back to her tests. "I'll need to call you back if I find anything amiss, but if it was as — well — antiseptic as you say it was, hopefully we shouldn't run into anything."

He nodded, then paused again. "I did stab a few guards before Ronan," he admitted.

"I'll make sure to run it thoroughly," she promised. "You should be alright — we did build in protective measures, but I don't want to take any chances."

"I wasn't worried," Logan told her. "I only came down on Fury's order."

She let out a little sigh at that. "Well, thank goodness for that," she teased before she shooed him with both hands. "Now go — I'm sure you have better places to be than breaking my lab partner."

Logan hopped off the chair and paused as he pulled his flannel back over his shoulders. "You sure you two wouldn't focus better if you just gave it a shot?" She stared at him, blushing high on her cheeks before Logan chuckled and headed out before Fitz could stop him again. The fact was, he was perfectly ready to head to bed for the better part of the day — but of course, he was stopped in the hall by Jubilee.

"Did you find anything out? Did they even talk to you?" Jubilee asked, looking more stressed than the day before.

"Yeah. I did It's fine," Logan said, readjusting to face her and switch his focus. "In fact, he and Honey are both down in medical. Came in real early this morning, the way I understand it."

She stared at him for a second before she smacked him in the arm hard. "When did you hear that? And _why_ didn't you tell me?"

"Just heard it a little while ago. You found me before I could find you. Come on, Jubes—" He shook his head at her. "Not like I was visitin' with him."

"And — and you said he was in medical?" she asked. "Which one ... there's a few stations around the place, and ... some of them are more serious than others."

He put his arm around her shoulders. "Come on," he said. "I'll take you down." He led her through the halls down to where the missions all came in — and the medical unit closest to the hangars. "It's not by severity. More like … proximity."

"And you would know how?" Jubilee said with a smirk, though she looked relieved as he led her through.

"I pay attention," Logan replied.

When they got to the right place, he pointed out the very messy-looking Noh through the windows. His hair was dirty still, and he looked like he'd been through the wringer a couple of times. He had one foot wrapped and propped up and both wrists wrapped as well. "Go get 'im."

She didn't need any more prompting than that, and when she came bursting into where Noh was, he almost immediately brightened on seeing her. "My Jubilee!" he beamed at her. "I was worried about you!"

"You? You can't have been worried about me! Where were you?" She asked as she tried to climb in with him very carefully to start peppering him with kisses.

He wrapped his arms around her just as carefully and pulled her tight. "In the palace, Jubilee — and it's an experience I would just as soon forget," he told her seriously. "Poor Honey Lemon was a wreck. GoGo has not left her side since she arrived a few minutes ago."

"You mean … the two of you were … _no_."

"You did ask me, and I am not going to lie to you," he told her, leaning against her shoulder as he let out all his breath and sounded suddenly very tired. "Our proximity to the victors made us targets, but of course, we didn't _know_ anything… But this new SHIELD rebellion ... they sent in a team. I'm sure they expected more than two simple stylists, but I'm grateful to them all the same."

"Is that how you were hurt?" she asked, still taking every opportunity to plant kisses all over his face.

"Yes, well, _that_ was… simply terrifying, Jubilee," he said, suddenly very still at the memory of it.

"Tell me who needs to be punished for it," she said. "And … I … don't know what I'll do, but it'll be something."

"Jubilee," he said, picking his head up to look her directly in the eyes. "You _cannot_ go after Ronan."

She stilled and looked up at him with wide eyes. " _Ronan_?"

"I have never been so fearful in all my life, Jubilee. To see what he did to those SHIELD agents…" He closed his eyes. "Honey and I were the only ones left by the time the SHIELD team arrived, and I owe them my life for their good timing," he said softly.

"Noh," she whispered out before she snuggled into his shoulder and had to try to wrap him up in a hug. "Then I'm extra glad you're here."

"As am I," he said before he tipped her chin up for a kiss. "Now, please, let's not speak of what happened until a much later time. I'd much rather just live in this moment with you for a good, long time."

"Okay, but I'm going to find the team that pulled you out and … I don't know. Do something nice for them."

"You shouldn't need to look too far," Noh told her. "One of their members was your victor — he was the one to fight Ronan while the others freed us."

She sat up and looked him in the face for a moment before she narrowed her eyes. "That _sneaky_ little ... He didn't say a _word._ Are you sure it was him?"

"SHIELD has equipped him with a version of those claws from his Games — it was unmistakable."

She gaped at him for a moment. "Why would they _do_ that?"

"Jubilee, if I understood any of what has happened in the last week, I would be far more clever than the two of us combined, given what we knew before this started," he told her wearily.

"Well. I'll deal with him later," she said before she snuggled in again, though she looked over her shoulder to where she'd last seen Logan. "At least it explains why he knew exactly where to find you."

"We should thank him. It means I have you again," he said with a little smile before he pulled her closer and stole her attention back to him. "I really was worried, Jubilee. I thought ... I didn't know if you had made it or not..."

"I was with Jessica Drew," she said with a sigh. "You know how clever she is."

"Yes, she truly is," Noh agreed before he leaned down to steal another kiss. "Remind me to thank her for getting you to safety." But beyond that, neither of them were interested in rehashing all the stress and fear from their time apart, and they simply curled up and got lost in relieved kisses.


	25. The Love That You Choose

**Chapter 25: "The Love That You Choose"**

* * *

 _January 28_

 _New SHIELD Base_

* * *

It had been about a week, and Skye had long ago found the footage that she needed to marry to SHIELD's audio of what had gone down between Logan and Nebula when the revolution broke. She already had it queued up and ready to go whenever Ronan decided to show his newly-uglier face, but in the meantime, she had been on a mission to find more footage that she could use, adding to the broadcast video as she went.

The longer Ronan waited, the more Skye was able to pull off of Nebula's old servers, which she had completely downloaded before the royals trashed them. It was just a matter of breaking through the encryptions, but that was almost relaxing, and she had the Tahiti kids doing some of it for practice. Had to keep her students sharp. Tony Stark helped with the hardest stuff, too — and peppered her with questions about the secret ops team of Fury's whenever he could.

They'd been able to get through plenty of files, not all of which were usable for _this_ particular broadcast, though there was a lot of useful stuff just generally.

But Nebula had kept audio and tapes of Selene before the royals found out she was cheating them — more than likely the royals kept this kind of stuff for the pure revulsion, hatred, panic ... all the responses the various victors had over the years to talking with Selene.

Which was totally creepy and gross. But on the other hand? Skye was glad they'd kept it. It just helped her to make her point about how awful the Capitol had been to these victors, to these _teenagers_ for ages. She had footage of Selene menacing every one of the last five or six victors — excluding America, of course, for obvious reasons. Actually, Ophelia Sarkissian's reaction had been the most… nearly violent. She had everyone from Jessica Drew on, except Creed.

And that was what she was bringing to Nick Fury's new office as she arrived with her laptop cradled in her arms and a satisfied sort of grin pulling at her lips. She'd notified him that she wanted to meet with him as soon as she'd finished Jess's tape — as well as every victor on the tape. With the exception, of course, of Quill. For obvious reasons.

"So, how long you been Director now?" Logan teased before the other victors got there.

"Shut up — that's not — no," she said, though she was blushing with pleasure.

"Gonna lock me up if I don't?"

"And what if I do?" she asked, one eyebrow quirked up, just to needle him.

"I'll have to break out," he told her. "It'd look bad on your record."

She smirked at him. "No it wouldn't — it'd be on Fury's record, seeing as he's still in charge." She leaned forward and whispered, "Technically."

"Abuse of power just to put me in cuffs."

"You'd be out of them in a second anyway," she teased. "Remember — the breakout?"

"I have no recollection of that event," he replied easily before he dropped into a seat and leaned back. "So why are we here?" Jessica Drew had just walked in with Sam and Rhodey, and not one of them looked like they knew what was happening.

"We're here because when I do a project, I do it _well_ , and I stick it to the royals," she said with a satisfied smirk. "And because I think the people involved should know what's about to happen," she added, tipping her head toward the newly arrived victors.

Bobbi and Viper arrived on the tail of her comment and took a seat opposite the other four, maintaining some distance and keeping to themselves just before Fury made his appearance as well. "Alright, what have you got that required interrupting all of them too?" he asked.

"The finished product of what we're going to play over Capitol airwaves as soon as Ronan shows his face again," Skye said. "It's not just Nebula's death and anything leading up to it. I've got footage from as far back as your victory tour, Jessica, of exactly what the Capitol was up to and how the victors were treated by the people in charge." She glanced toward the gathered victors. "I thought you should know... Nebula kept tapes of Selene's approach for each new victor."

Every one of them but Logan went still and a bit pale. "Why … what would you need that for?" Rhodey asked with an expression of pure disbelief.

"Well for one thing, to give context to what Nebula was saying before she and Logan duked it out," Skye said honestly. "For another, to give context to everything that happened to Quill so people aren't maligning his memory. And for another, because the Capitol _sucked_ and this will hit them where it hurts — their pride and their image and their public support."

"I just don't understand …" he said, shaking his head.

"Right now, people think a lot of the victors wllingly went along with the Capitol at the very least, and at worst, supported them," Skye tried to explain. "I know I did before I joined SHIELD. _This_ puts you solidly on our side and exposes the Capitol for the sick, twisted garbage pit that it really is."

"Alright, they've been prepared — roll the tape," Fury said, tipping his chin up.

Skye glanced at the director and then nodded as she pulled up the video. The first part was just what Fury had asked for — unedited, raw video and audio of what happened with Nebula and Logan. But the rest ... it was each of the victors, in backwards order, all of them dealing with Selene in some way or another. Skye hadn't been able to find the first encounter for some of them like Sam, but the picture was more or less complete all the same.

Viper was the first to speak up after it ended. "Cut me out of it."

Skye glanced at her and frowned. "I'd rather not cut anyone."

"I will not appear … like _that_ publicly," Viper said in a wicked tone. She turned to Fury with a glare. "You said things would be different. Prove it. I do not want to be a part of this."

Fury looked around the table to the rest of them. "Anyone else refusing to appear?"

"Not all of us are that worried about our image," Logan said, giving Viper a look. "It's a tactical strike, and no one's gonna look down on you for gettin' pissed off about that."

"Out of all the reactions I've got, yours was the closest to violent," Skye cut in. "It would be good to show the Capitol didn't just… steamroll you guys. People will be impressed."

"I'd have to think about it," Viper said after a long pause. "But I don't like it." She took a moment to make sure Skye got the full blast of her deepest glare. "And if you air that before I give my permission, you _will_ die."

"It's airing when Ronan makes his first public appearance. If that happens before you make your decision, I'm not making any apologies," Skye shot back angrily.

"I will kill you," she replied. "It's not a threat either."

Fury held up a hand to get the two women to settle down. "You have twenty four hours to decide, then I'll make the decision for you."

"Come on," Bobbi whispered Viper's way. "You did have the best furious response, better than any of the boys — better than me. It'll show your _restraint._ " She gave Viper a little look that clearly read it was something that needed to be established, and after a moment, Viper finally let out an irritated noise and crossed her arms.

"Fine. But if this hurts my image at all, I'm taking it out on you," Viper said coldly.

"Fair enough," Bobbi said. "But I'm right on this one."

The other victors in the room shared glances. They didn't want to try and back out and step into what Viper was doing, so Jess was the first to nod Fury's way. "Run it."

Sam and Rhodey shared a look and nodded together. "Alright then," Fury said. "If that's all..." He glanced around the room at all of those gathered and simply dismissed them, though Logan and Jess hung back, quietly discussing something between them until Viper and Bobbi were gone.

"... don't like that woman for anything. Gotta be a pain every chance she gets," Logan had said, earning a smile from Jessica.

"I'm just glad being here means we don't _have_ to talk to her. Or be around her. Not unless we're hitting the Capitol," Jess smirked. "Gotta feel for Bobbi, though."

"Yeah, rotten job to get stuck with," Logan agreed before he watched Jess trying to size Skye up. "Right," he said. "You haven't met Fury's replacement have you? Introduce yourself, director."

"Skye," she said, rolling her eyes at Logan. "Don't listen to him. He's ahead of himself."

"Doesn't mean I'm wrong," he countered.

"You'll have to wait a few years to find out, won't you?" she shot back with a teasing grin.

"Just a few years?" Jess asked. "So you have a five-year plan in place?"

Skye laughed and shook her head. "Hey. A few could be a decade. I'm not planning anything."

"Hostile takeover," Logan whispered.

Skye shot him a _look_. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm still far down on the list. Coulson, Hill, May…"

"Not if it's a hostile takeover," Jess pointed out.

"Don't _encourage_ him," Skye laughed outright. "You'll only make him worse, and I will have to deal with it!"

"Will you now?" Jess asked, her chin on her palm. "Are you the SHIELD agent Nebula was talking about on that tape?"

" _That's not ..._ " Skye said quickly, then jerked her thumb over at Logan. "He'll keep harping on this. Just because I can't disprove him. He's just… _like_ this," she said, trying to give Logan a look that was a lot more affectionate than angry.

"But it's alright, because you _like_ him like this," Jess teased.

Skye paused and glanced at Logan before she shrugged. "Well, yeah."

Jess grinned and nodded. "Good. But so you know... it might actually be smart not to confirm that for Viper. She's a little … weird about him."

"Yeah, trust me, I know," Skye promised. "I'm in the business of surveillance and intel. I know."

"Sounds like a director to me," Logan muttered. "Buncha two dollar words for nosy."

"And yet you like me anyway," she shot back with a smirk.

"Didn't say it was a problem, future director of SHIELD."

"Don't get so ahead of yourself. Unless you _want_ me to be the boss of you," she teased right back.

"Title doesn't mean much. Just take a look at the level of whiskey in the current director's stash and get back to me."

Skye packed up her laptop and rolled her eyes at Logan. "What're you going to steal when I'm in charge, then?" she asked.

"I'll just keep changing your screensaver and background."

"I'll change my password on you," she said. "And encrypt the laptop and refuse to teach you how to get in."

"You know, he's already gotten to you," Jess said with a grin as she left ahead of them. "He'll find a way if he needs to."

Skye waved a hand at Jess. "Yeah, I know. He's just _like_ this. But I have to at least try to make it a challenge — I'm not just going to _let_ him be like this," she added.

Logan shook his head at her and started down the hall — the opposite direction she was headed. Mostly to see if he could irritate her. "Have fun waiting to see Ronan," he called out.

"And where do you think you're going?" she called back.

"Gonna find somewhere to get a nap," he replied. "Where I can _be_ like this."

She rolled her eyes and switched directions to catch up to him. "I know a place," she said.

"I don't know … sounds like it comes with correction."

"Like you'd listen to a word of it," she laughed.

He smirked at that "Alright — what you got?"

"I know a girl who _actually_ got all her laundry done. There's a whole bed under there," she teased. "And it's prime for napping."

"Wouldn't that interrupt your Ronan watch?"

"If you think I've been 24/7 watching the Capitol news, you're insane. I have a very loud buzzer alarm set to go off when facial recognition catches him. I'll know when it happens and still get my beauty sleep, thank you very much."

"Is that takin' into account the new facelift?" he asked as he came to a stop and turned her way.

"Please. Give me some credit. I just need a 40% match."

He thought about it and then finally nodded his head. "Alright. I've been avoiding my room anyhow."

She grinned broadly and took him by the arm. "This-a-way," she declared, the smile growing steadily brighter as she turned him back down the right hallway.

* * *

 _February 1_

 _Tahiti Wing of the New SHIELD Base_

* * *

"You're certain that you can handle all of them?" Charles asked Henry with a raised eyebrow. It was, uncharacteristically, the third or fourth time that he'd repeated himself — but it was something tangible that he could ask about outside of his own anticipation and nerves over the coming ceremony.

"I can handle you at your worst; I can certainly deal with them while they are all in a celebratory mood," Henry replied with a little sparkle in his eyes. "Relax, this is long overdue."

The two men made their way out of Charles' office, looking more dapper than either had in years, and slowly made their way down the halls. And for the first time since his Games, Charles had abandoned the chair entirely. He'd worked for months now to regain the strength in his legs — and he was to a point that he really no longer needed it at all other than to maintain the secret of his recovery.

When they entered the Danger Room — as the kids had dubbed the incredibly improved simulation area — they were impressed by the _detail_ that every one of the kids who worked on the program had poured into the scenery. Charles could actually feel the light breeze touch him — and it smelled of wildflowers as he looked out over the field of blossoming spring flowers. It was a perfectly sunny day, and every member of the Tahiti program had gathered in the white, wooden chairs by the white rose arch.

He and Henry had of course arrived ahead of Moira, and Henry went first to take his place to conduct the ceremony itself, allowing Charles a moment to take in the scene. The only thing missing was, really, those that he held dear that didn't know about Tahiti, about any of this — though of course, after weeks of strenuous interviews and grilling by Agent Coulson, Erik Lensherr was the second victor to be introduced to the program, solely for the purpose of attending Charles' wedding.

But for as surprised as Erik had been at the extent and nature of the Tahiti program ... the expression on his face as he stood near the arch, waiting, and looked past the crowd to where Charles was… it was an expression Charles had never seen Erik wear. In an instant, his old friend seemed years younger as he crossed the field to Charles, rather than wait for Charles to come to him, to put a hand on either shoulder and just … take him in, still clearly shocked but starting to smile in elated disbelief.

"When… how long since the operation?" he asked at last as the smile finally reached his eyes to overtake the shock.

"Eight years," Charles replied with an almost apologetic smile as Erik went from shock to awe and then simply wrapped up his oldest friend in a warm hug.

"Keeping secrets from _me_ ," Erik scolded.

Charles smiled warmly. "The process that helped me also helped these children. I couldn't speak about it to anyone — but I _am_ sorry to keep it from you, my old friend," he said as he took a slight step back from the hug. "I hope it won't color your duties today," he couldn't help but add with a slight smile at his chosen best man.

"The news coming out of this revolution just keeps getting better and better," Erik replied with a smirk. "So let's get this next step moving. I'm sure your bride is tired of waiting."

The residents of the Tahiti Wing were already gathering up — all broad smiles and cheer as they beamed at Charles. Everyone had helped at some point to get him upright and walking, going so far as to take time out of their own busy training schedules just so he could leave the chair behind sooner rather than later. But few of them realized that the woman he was marrying was the bright-eyed redhead that had until quite recently been the escort for District Seven.

"Behold: the future Mrs. X," Kate whispered to Kurt with a particularly proud grin, since she was one of the few to have figured it out.

The ceremony got underway quickly as the illustrious Dr. Henry McCoy took over the arduous task of officiating one of his best friend's weddings — while Erik just smiled at him for making sure that all of this had come together smoothly. It was no secret that Hank was the one that pushed to get things moving immediately for them, wanting to give all of them something far brighter now that they were outside of the Capitol's walls.

Naturally, Henry was verbose and eloquent as always, but it really didn't matter much what was said in light of the way that the couple were _looking_ at each other. It was a full 180 from the farce of a wedding that the Capitol had pushed on Quill.

Peter Parker, meanwhile, had been assigned the task of wedding photographer — and he was clearly loving every moment of it as he captured that special sort of sparkle in both Charles' and Moira's gazes. It was a rare moment. Fury and Coulson had been _insistent_ at the old base that absolutely no cameras be allowed anywhere near the Tahiti Wing, but the restriction had been lessened for just this occasion, with the stipulation that any pictures that included Charles standing or any of the Tahiti kids remain on _that_ side of the base. And naturally, Peter was already considering ways to crop the pictures he had to hide the fact that Charles was standing so that Charles could share them with whoever he wanted.

The other Peter had taken over video duties and was clearly enjoying himself as he watched the two lovers finally tie the knot. He was the perfect candidate for the job too, since he had no trouble keeping the camera angles in mind to keep all of the kids out of frame at all times, and he was sure not to speak — just in case.

Finally, Henry declared them married, and the two shared their first kiss to uproarious applause and whistles that completely drowned out their officiant as he presented them as married, and when the camera finally flipped off for Quill, he just had to join in, every bit as enthusiastic as the rest of the Tahiti crowd.

The newly married couple had other duties to get to — the other half of the base wanted to celebrate their wedding, too, and it was only fair that their friends outside the Tahiti program get to participate in the day. So from there, Charles had fully expected to take Moira back to that side for the much bigger celebration… but the kids had other ideas.

The simulation in the Danger Room shimmered and shifted, and in an instant, they were no longer in the flower-covered field but in a large, empty ballroom the likes of which would have been seen in a fairytale. The kids were all sharing huge grins between themselves as it quickly became clear that they wanted to give Charles the chance to dance with his new bride — a real dance, a waltz — as the music played from speakers that were hidden in the simulated walls around them.

He took her hand to lead her out, and in the center of the lavish ballroom, the two of them spun slowly and quietly together, until the waltz came to an end and they stopped in the middle of the floor. Charles kissed her forehead — leaning slightly down to do so for the first time since they'd met.

The moment the dance ended, the gathered audience of course burst into another round of applause and all but mobbed the two of them for hugs, congratulations, and more hugs — and by the time they were actually able to get out of the Danger Room to head to where they were supposed to be for the more public reception, they were running later than even Henry had expected. Not that anyone on the other side was too put out, since most of them believed the three older victors had disappeared for an incredibly private, quick ceremony — and none of them would begrudge them for taking their time.


	26. Tell the Truth

**Chapter 26: Tell the Truth**

* * *

 _February 2_

 _SHIELD Base One - Skye's room_

* * *

The best part about not having to be part of the Capitol anymore, Skye was absolutely sure, was that she didn't have to worry _as much_ about the whole secret of her and Logan — so she invited him to sleep over pretty much always. Or snuck into his room, depending.

Which was how they found themselves curled up in her room, her head on his chest and both of them dead asleep still after all the honest-to-goodness _happy_ partying (not the Capitol partying) that had happened yesterday for the wedding. They were both planning to sleep in — he didn't have an early-morning mission, and she had already finished everything she needed for the first broadcast… And she was just waiting on the Tahiti kids who were in charge of pictures for the second one…

But all their plans for sleeping went up in the smoke of a loud, obnoxious, grating alarm that emitted from her laptop at such a pitch that it had both of them awake in an instant. Skye scrambled to get to her computer and turn it _off._ It was the alarm to let her know Ronan was on the Capitol broadcasts — and as soon as she pulled it up, she got to work, pushing her hair out of her face, her mouth still full of early-morning dryness and now adrenaline as well.

Logan glared toward the computer as she got moving on her plans, and when he saw there was no way she was going back to sleep anytime soon, he narrowed his eyes and rolled onto his stomach — intent on sleeping one way or another.

She glanced at his reaction for only a moment, stuck her tongue out at him — even if he couldn't see it — and then rolled her eyes and kept right on working. After all, she was supposed to break through the broadcast before Ronan was through denouncing the rebellion — and particularly the victors, with special emphasis on Logan.

"No idea why he's got _that_ grudge," Skye muttered under her breath with a proud sort of smirk that she couldn't quite stop.

It was rather obvious, though. Ronan had clearly tried to wait until he was healed better, but there was just no hiding the ugly, long, white scars across his dark blue face that looked like tracks, wide and impossible to hide. It was clear that someone had tried their best to heal him up — and probably employed a stylist to cover the damage — but they were just so big, so obvious, and so _distinctive_ that there was nothing to do for him but appear on camera with Logan's parting gift written all over his face.

She had a handle on the broadcast part of the way in, but she didn't break in until Ronan was nearly finished — because the truth was, Fury had asked her to wait and make sure that Ronan got the chance to call out the rebellion, make his claims, put out as much information as they needed so that it would be _that much_ more of a juxtaposition when they put out the truth of the matter.

So it was almost too perfect when she broke into the broadcast as Ronan denounced Logan for defying Nebula in particular and called him a cold-blooded killer… it was almost like an _invitation_ , really.

In an instant, the SHIELD emblem filled the screen — and the unedited footage of the fight between Logan and Nebula started up.

Skye had already seen everything on the broadcast, though, so she wasn't paying attention to _that_ part of it. Instead, she had her hands full trying to keep the Capitol from blocking the transmission — but also keeping them from tracing it back. She knew Stark and a couple of the new girls from Tahiti were on the other side of the compound putting up dummy relays and generally screwing with the Capitol to keep them off track, and it did make her job easier, but that didn't mean she was any less busy the whole way through the broadcast.

Not that she minded. That was the best part of her job, really. Totally screwing with the Capitol and doing it _well_ and not leaving a trace behind. There was something supremely satisfying about the whole thing.

It was still early morning by the time she was finished — well, not _too_ early, but early enough that she was sure the Capitol would be re-broadcasting Ronan's whole monologue without the interruption, so she'd have to do this dance again later in the day when more of the Capitolites were awake and paying attention. Even if it had been a full-on special bulletin, taking over the airwaves (which just made her job that much easier, since that meant _she_ had taken over all the airwaves by piggybacking his announcement), the royals didn't miss a chance to preen. And they wouldn't miss the chance to denounce the truth that SHIELD was putting out.

She sent a quick message down to her friends in Tahiti to let them know they'd be doing this dance again really soon before she finally, finally, felt like she'd not only covered her tracks but sufficiently screwed with the Capitol and also gotten everything set for annoying them even more. So when she climbed back in beside Logan, she was _incredibly_ pleased with herself.

* * *

By the time Logan left the area of the base where Coulson's team had situated itself, it was mid-afternoon. Skye was still in her room working on the aftermath of the second broadcast and had promised to meet him later, but he just wanted coffee and some food.

There was no way for him to know that he'd be the only victor — besides America — out in the public areas that anyone had seen since the broadcast went out, so quite a few people stopped outright to glance his way — but he went right to the coffee to fill himself up a mug.

No one approached him — no one quite knew how they would even start up a conversation after what had just been broadcast — until a very bushy-headed victor came sliding up to him and socked him lightly in the arm with nothing of the strength that he knew she had.

"Can I help you?" he asked with a little glare over the lip of his mug. "Or are you just tryin' to start somethin'?"

"Moron," she told him in a voice full of affection as she grabbed herself a mug for herself.

"What did I do now?" Logan asked.

She gestured with one hand toward a monitor that wasn't showing anything at the moment, but she didn't say much else except, "Been talking with the crew from Twelve, by the way."

"You mean your gang of hooligans?" He leaned back against the counter as he finally started to take in who was in the room.

"Yep. My special brand of idiots." She grinned at him and gestured at a table. "Join me?"

"Why not?" he answered with a shrug before he topped his mug off and gestured for her to lead the way.

She sat down at a relatively unoccupied table, at the end, and once he was seated by her, she socked him in the arm again. "That's for not telling me so I couldn't get properly pissed at the princesses, you jerk."

He set his mug down and looked up at her before he let out a long breath. "If you'd known what the deal was — or who they had lined up for you — we wouldn't have been able to get you out."

"Damn right," she agreed. "I'd still be there polishing off the rest of 'em."

"Or dead," he countered. "And none of us wanted that to be the case. Not over their stupidity."

She let out a sigh and leaned back in her seat. "Don't make sense, Logan. It makes it hard to be mad at you," she said with a little smirk at the corner of her mouth.

"You wanna be mad - go ahead. It was my call not to tell you that side of things. Threatened Noh outright."

At that, America did hit him more than just jokingly. "You did _not_. You did _not_! He is too sweet to do that to!" she hissed at him.

"I did, and I'd do it again too."

"You threatened — that sweet little blue man has a _line_ to think about, you moron!"

"Yes, he does. And now it can go forward full speed ahead," he replied, which at least had her smirking.

"Oh, yeah. The sweet, sweet glitter is _thick_ around here," America laughed. "You should have seen them last night after you left. I don't think they left the dance floor at _all_."

"I tried not to get in their way," he said. "I'm surprised he was dancin' that much with his ankle like that."

"That was the best part," she said, leaning forward with a twinkle in her eyes. "It was this very slow not-at-all a dance leaning-on-her _ridiculousness_ that even Teddy thought was too sweet for words. Teddy. You know. The sweetest sweetie ever."

"Then I'm glad I missed that part of the toothache." He looked around the room again and frowned. "No sign of anyone else today?"

"You're the first," America admitted. "Though… I did see that blonde that hangs out with Bobbi sneaking food past the cafeteria," she added in a little whisper.

"They must be hidin' out," he replied as he caught someone's gaze across the room - and they immediately looked away. "No idea why."

"It's a mystery, that," America agreed.

"Nice change o' pace. No one wants to talk to me." He gave her a little smirk and went back to his coffee.

"Jealous," she teased. "I can't get people to _stop_ talking to me. But I've got kids like Tommy to worry about too. He's told me the story of how he decked Kate's dad about, oh, twenty times since we got here. Gets more outlandish every single time."

"Good for him," he said with a nod. "Got to do something he enjoyed."

"You know they already signed up? Getting trained and everything," America said, and there was no mistaking the proud tone to her voice.

"Yeah? What about you? You goin' with 'em?"

"Doing a little training, yeah," she admitted. "Figure that's the only way I can convince the higher-ups in suits to let me punch the last princess in the mouth."

"Likely," he agreed. "Better get good fast though - I'm two for four as far as fights go."

"Yeah, I saw on the big screen. You improved his face."

"Little rat took off down a hole before I could finish the job," he muttered, shaking his head. "Broke his hammer. That was fun."

"He'll get a new one. Probably bigger to compensate," America smirked.

"Just have to break that one for him too," he replied. "Maybe I'll shove that one up his -"

At just that moment, though, the sound of two hands being slammed down on the table drowned out the rest of what Logan had to say as Jubilee arrived, looking at Logan like he had _betrayed_ her. "You didn't _tell_ me a _thing_ ," she accused him. "I had to hear the details from Noh — and you _knew_ the whole time I was — I was scared to death, and _you knew_ you were going in after him, mister!" She leveled her index finger at him and narrowed her eyes.

He let out a sigh and met her gaze. "To be fair, I didn't know for sure if he was in that group or not," he replied. "And until I blew the damn mission, it was supposed to be a secret that I was even doing stuff like that."

"You still could have _told me_ ," she insisted. "It's not like I don't know how to keep your secrets." She gestured up at the still blank monitor above their heads. "Case in point — until, like, half an hour ago."

"The secret you kept — far as I'm concerned — you didn't have to. And the one I kept wasn't just mine to keep," Logan pointed out.

"That's true," Noh agreed as he finally caught up to Jubilee —much slower than she was, and she had been running once she saw Logan. "There was a team."

"A team where I'm the only one that's been ID'd," Logan pointed out. "So I might not be on it anymore."

"I should think you'd be happy about that, considering the company," Noh said mildly as he took a seat.

Logan had to smirk. "I didn't say I wasn't," he clarified. "But the rest of the team is easy to deal with. And I was good at the job."

"Perhaps you can do something else for a time," Noh said, pausing before he leaned forward. "In fact, I have been meaning to ask a small favor of you."

"What's on your mind?" Logan asked. "Something in particular inspire you?"

"You could say that," Noh said carefully before he glanced at the two girls sitting with them and cleared his throat. "Do you mind — can I borrow you — I promise it's nothing imposing, but part of it is a surprise…"

"Sure, if you can get there without hurting yourself," Logan agreed.

Noh smirked and gestured at the walking cast. "I've held up through a night of dancing. I think a walk down the hall will be more than easy enough."

Logan nodded and stood up. "Sorry ladies," he said, mostly to Jubilee. "I think I'm about to be critiqued for my work."

"Don't apologize; I've been meaning to steal Jubes anyway," America said before Jubilee could say anything. "I need my glitter fix. And she knows where the stylists congregate…" She trailed off and gave Jubilee an obnoxious wink.

Logan shook his head as he and Noah slowly made their way through the cafeteria area down to a quieter area of the base. "Alright Noh — what's on your mind?" He pushed a door open to an empty room that was being used to house spare office furniture — though its contents were only evident when the lights were flipped on.

Noh took in a deep breath before he looked over both shoulders to be sure they were alone. When he didn't see anyone, he followed Logan inside and let out a sigh as he gestured at his foot. "It's become… painfully clear to me that I am not well-equipped to defend myself — or to protect anyone else," he said, his voice heavy.

"So what? You want lessons?" he asked.

"If you'd be willing," Noh agreed with a small smile. "I know next to nothing, so I wouldn't be a very… easy student, I'm afraid."

"Honestly, if you don't mind working with a group — I already teach a few people. I'll bet you can jump in with them pretty easy," Logan offered. "Time is kind of an issue for me."

"I've never been shy," Noh laughed quietly. "I don't mind working with others - you should know that."

"Well, they're science babies," Logan warned. "They try hard, but …"

"Well, if those are my fellow students, maybe I won't be _too_ behind," Noh couldn't help but laugh.

"You really won't," Logan agreed before he told him where to meet and when. "I'm sure they'll be happy to try and show off."

Noh smiled and nodded his agreement. "I'd be interested to see how you teach — more than just the crash course the children in last year's Games received," he admitted.

"You'll be able to hold your own," Logan promised.

"I hope so," Noh said with a little nod. He paused, then added, "I want to be able to keep my Jubilee safe. Had I known what was going to happen… I might have… I don't know what lessons would have been available, but I surely would have found them."

"For that? Leaving?" Logan shook his head. "No. You did what was best — kept down as much as you could. I know you went back to get Honey."

"I know — I know — I've been told how foolish I was a dozen times over," Noh said, shaking his head.

"It was the right thing to do," Logan disagreed. "I'd have done the same."

"That was my thought at the time, too," Noh said, sounding relieved that at least someone agreed with him. After all, up until that point, he had been read the riot act a hundred times over. "That it was right. Though all I was able to ensure was that she was not alone, I'm afraid," he added sheepishly.

"And I'm sure that had she been alone, she'd have been totally hopeless," Logan said. "It was enough."

"Yes, well." Noh cleared his throat. "The point still stands — I want to be able to protect my Jubilee, and Honey, and those that are dear to me." He started to smile. "But particularly my Jubilee."

"Yeah, I got that part," Logan said with a smirk. "So when are you askin' her?"

Noh looked surprised for only a moment before he burst into a laugh. "Am I that obvious?"

"Easy enough to see," he answered with a nod. "You've had it written all over your face for months now."

"I was going to ask her sooner, but when I heard that a wedding was planned for the beginning of the month…"

"That wedding was in the works for years," Logan told him. "Henry pushed Coulson and Fury for the paperwork the day we got out. So you might want to talk to him to see how that's done."

"Yes, I'll need to," Noh agreed. "I thought, for my Jubilee, a Valentine's proposal would be best - and then we'll hammer out the details later."

"Covered in chocolate and hearts — sounds right to me."

"If we were still in the Capitol, it would be moreso, but this is infinitely preferable anyway," Noh said with a little smirk. "Not nearly as lavish, but with the freedom to _act_ … I'll take it."

Logan clapped him on the shoulder with a little smirk. "Congratulations. I'm sure you'll give everyone a toothache in no time."

"With all the focus on fighting around here? I will gladly shoulder the responsibility of a little levity and cheer," Noh teased.

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Coulson had given Quill the heads up about the broadcast about a half hour after the other victors had been told during Skye's meeting with Fury — so he wasn't entirely surprised when the monitors in the Tahiti Wing came to life first with Ronan being stupid — he was _so_ glad to be gone — and looking better than he'd ever looked in his life… and then with Logan and Nebula and a whole montage of other victors with Selene after that.

He'd been warned, but honestly, at this point, he didn't _care_ if other people knew. In fact, it was kind of a relief to have the country know that, hey, he didn't _pick_ Gamora. He wasn't interested in the royal family.

Plus, he was just generally in a good mood about Ronan looking like a badly printed picture of the ocean that had been sat on and crumpled up and then someone had attempted to smooth it out… it was just such a good look for that guy. It really was.

So when Kurt seemed to appear out of nowhere from around the corner with a concerned look on his face, Quill almost had to laugh when the concern turned to confusion the second he saw that Quill was flat-out grinning to himself even though the broadcast had only just finished.

"Should I get Dr. McCoy?" Kurt asked with an outright confused expression.

"Nah, I'm fine," Quill assured him, still grinning. "You see Ronan? _That_ was a work of art. Beautiful. Logan's finest work, I'd say."

"I did see it — that's why I came to check on you," Kurt said. "I can honestly say I wasn't expecting laughter."

Quill just shrugged, still grinning. "Hey, what happened happened. And honestly, it means people might stop lumping me in with the in-laws, so I'm all for it, personally."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Of course it does," Quill told him with a light shrug. "But I'm out. I'm _out_ , and no one's going to tell me when to _breathe_ anymore, so something like a video ain't gonna ruffle my good mood."

"How much …. How much control did they have?"

Quill paused, and the smile finally slipped. "For me? In the palace? Or for the victors in general?"

"Yes. To both. And was that just a problem for the tour?"

The former victor let out a long sigh and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. "That's… alright. We're going to need to find a place to sit down if you want the whole nine. There's plenty to know — and not all of it's awful, actually." He started to smirk. "I should tell you about how the woman in the clips with me and the others got herself busted out to the royals, because I will never, _ever_ forget that moment. Best thing to happen in that whole year."

"Then lead the way, please," Kurt said.

Quill made a wide, sweeping gesture as he led the way to the classroom where Skye sometimes worked with the Tahiti kids and then dropped into a chair the wrong way around, folding his arms over the back of it as Kurt took his own seat. "Alright, so — I'll start with the royals, do you think?" he said, though he didn't look all that thrilled at the prospect. "Let's see … it was, what, six months I was married to the scariest woman … okay, second scariest, depending on Nebula's mood … in all of Marvel?" He shook his head. "What do you want to know? Couldn't eat, sleep, talk, think without their say so - but I'm not the typical case for the victors' experiences. Obviously." He held up his bare left hand and wiggled the fingers.

"Yes, we saw that — and the results of that," Kurt said. "We were all very glad to see you freed." He settled in to hear what Quill had to say, and the other kids from all parts of Tahiti started to trickle in one by one — clued in to what was going on by a couple Hawks and a Cajun in the air vents.

"The rest of the victors — it wasn't an every day every second thing, but it was often enough," Quill admitted. "Don't know how much you saw of the outside world while you were here, but I can guarantee you — anybody you saw in public with a victor was _not_ a chosen date."

Kurt had to frown at that. "All of them?"

"Don't know when it started, but yeah. All of 'em. Somewhere around… Hank McCoy I think," Quill said thoughtfully. "Or Johnny Storm… Right, he was before Hank." Quill pushed a hand through his hair. "It's been going on for years - usually to the highest bidder, but you saw with Nebula … there were exceptions." He paused as he considered it. "Pretty sure Gamora never _bid_ on me, just… you know. Told Selene how it was gonna be," he said in a more subdued tone.

"So you didn't have to deal with the same thing?" Tony asked, settling in to listen to the tales of woe Quill was laying out.

"Not like the others did," Quill agreed. "Sure, there was the tour, but after that, it was all royals… would have been the same for Logan if Nebula had her way, but he put the kabosh on _that_ real fast." He started to grin again. "Never seen Ronan _and_ Nebula shut down like that. She invited him to the palace — or, well, Gamora did, but he was stuck with the blue one all night - and by the end of the day, I was engaged, Nebula was pissed, and Thanos was offering your short little friend _tarts_."

"I'm sorry ... what?" Kurt said, looking completely confused. "I don't understand. Is that … does that mean something in particular in the Capitol?"

"No, I mean little pastries covered in fruit," Quill said, already falling into a huge grin at the memory. "Thanos brought a double-dealing business tycoon — Hammer Industries; you ever heard of them? Anyway, he brought in Hammer Sr., and Logan just … let the whole table know the guy was stealing from Howard Stark _and_ lying on his contracts to the royals." Quill laughed quietly and shook his head. "And Thanos _cheerfully_ informed the guy his life and contracts were forfeit — and offered Logan his choice in dessert, I kid you not."

"You're kidding me right?" Tony said, totally blown away by that particular revelation.

"What did I just say?" Quill laughed. "No, the guy's secretary had worked for your dad, and then Hammer hired her to get her secrets and _still_ couldn't get the job done for Thanos. Both of them were petrified by the time Logan was done, and Thanos was so tickled he didn't even yell at Gamora when she announced we were getting married."

"How the hell did he end up … how did he figure out what Hammer was up to?" Tony asked.

"Combination of good intel ahead of time and the fact that Hammer didn't realize his assistant was in the newspaper for a piece on Stark Industries," Quill admitted. "We knew going in Hammer was going to be at the dinner, but it was _beautiful_ watching Logan tear him down one lie at a time."

"Yeah, but what got Logan onto him in the first place?" Stark pushed.

"Thanos brought it up," Quill admitted.

"Why?"

Quill looked at him like it was obvious. "To test Logan."

"Why would he test him with Justin Hammer?" Tony asked. "That's just … weird."

"Well, okay, back up," Quill said, holding up both hands. "Alright, it might, maybe, probably make more sense if you knew it wasn't the first business he'd totally exposed as scamming the royals?" He grinned. "That's a whole other story. But the gist of this one was that Thanos thought it might be nice to have a victor around not just to show off how miserable he can make us—" He paused and gestured at himself "—but to put us to work _for_ him in his crazy paranoid little delusion land."

"Can you tell me what the other scam was?" Peter asked. "Because now I'm curious... If it got Thanos' attention."

Quill's grin got even wider. "Oh, this one's my _favorite_ ," he admitted. "And not just because this story doesn't involve me getting engaged, but you know. That's a factor." He resettled the way he was seated in his chair as he leaned forward with relish.

The others couldn't help but begin to smile at how infectious Quill's mood was, even considering the material he was telling them.

"Alright, so." Quill leaned in. "That woman on the broadcast — the one that was running that crooked, twisted little 'side business' before the princesses stepped in? Her name was Selene. And Logan decided he was going to _destroy_ her from day one of finding out what the deal was."

"That does not surprise me," Peter said flatly.

"Well, he couldn't do it himself," Quill admitted. "She had it written in the contracts — anything happened to her, everyone that was being threatened to keep us in line… _everyone_ would be killed for it, regardless of which victor it was who snapped on her." He winced slightly with one eye closed. "We got close once. We didn't know anything more than that people were being threatened — and one of us almost poisoned her before Logan stopped her and let us in on just how far-reaching the contracts went. Apparently, Selene felt the need to tell him that when he threatened her that first night."

"How … how did he manage to do it, then?" Kurt asked.

"Did what no one else thought to do and _asked_ what these Capitol ladies were paying for the night," Quill said. "Not a one of us asked — we didn't really want to know, you know? But he came in all prepared with a _list_ and _numbers_ and gave 'em to Gamora to compare to what Selene was giving the royals for her numbers." He laughed outright and shook his head. "I have _never_ seen that look on Gamora's face. In my _life_. Second only to the one on Selene's — it was beautiful."

Kurt was just sitting there trying to hide the smile with one hand as he shook his head slowly. "And that … shut things down for a bit," he surmised. "That was when Bobbi was in such a good mood."

"Everyone was," Quill agreed. "I mean, things got dicey when the princesses got their books sorted and took over the whole operation, but for a while? No calls to the Capitol, no orders coming down, and Selene was Ronan's guest for a while before she died, so the victors didn't break contract — and everyone was safe. Kind of brilliant."

"And ... the avoidance of every clause was what caught Thanos' attention," Tony said, shaking his head slowly.

"He was, uh, impressed by the … _creativity_ ," Quill admitted. "Considering how long he'd even been _in_ the Capitol. He wasn't so impressed by it when the Games started again, though. As far as the palace was concerned, neither one of those kids from Seven should have gotten anything — and you," he said, turning toward Kamala, "they were pretty pissed off about that one. He used their own loopholes against them. Cost a mint too."

"I _knew_ it wasn't from the Skull," Kamala said. "But I mean — did he get in trouble?" she asked, her eyes wide. "That's not really worth it for some food and a nice note, even if it was a really nice note."

"Yeah, well, Thanos mostly yelled at Fury for it, and Nebula had _plans_ to get him in more trouble, but you see how that turned out," Quill said with a crooked grin and a shrug. "But Thanos has been pissed about the victors getting 'out of hand' for a while, so the revolution couldn't have come at a better time." He gestured at himself. "If he'd had his way, every one of 'em would have been stuck like I was - not breathing a word without permission. That's what he really wanted was full control."

"But he only had three kids, so that wouldn't have gotten him too far," Peter said with a little shrug. "Just three at most that way."

"Yeah… I was sort of a best-case scenario, to be honest," Quill said, rubbing the back of his neck. "If Ronan had his way… they'd all have gone the way of Selene. Eventually. After he got bored." He took in a breath. "He _wanted_ to look into a way to … well … schedule a victor in his dungeons every month or so — but Thanos wouldn't have it. Not that he didn't like the idea, just… you can't push _too_ hard if you think the public sympathy would turn into public outcry and rebellion." Quill swallowed. "So they started with me — that's what finally sold Thanos on letting his daughter marry me. Break the public confidence in the victors. Make them part of the system of oppressors. Then no one would care if they started to disappear."

"Well, that worked out _splendidly_ in the end, didn't it?" Kurt said with a bit of venom. "That broadcast certainly cleared things up — and Ronan got one-on-one time with Logan, apparently."

"Like I said, it's a good thing the revolution stepped up when it did. But yeah, it backfired pretty spectacularly in their faces, didn't it?" Quill said, matching Kurt's expression with a grin full of vindictive pleasure.

"Are all the victors running crazy missions that put them oh … I dunno. _In the palace_?" Peter asked. "Because… we aren't even allowed anywhere near that place. And we've been training in secret every day more or less since we were brought back. I mean, you guys couldn't possibly be able to have learned all we did."

"I don't know about all the other victors. I was out of the loop toward the end." Quill shrugged. "But Logan had been through the palace with me to plant surveillance — you know, that time Thanos offered him dessert? And I know Bobbi's got a deep cover assignment somewhere because she's been in with Fury… I don't know. We all did our own things, really. Better not to know, especially for me, considering." He looked honestly apologetic. "Sorry, wish I had better info for you."

"You know, it's really nice to hear those crazy stories, though," Pepper said. "I had no idea it was like that."

Quill grinned her way. "I've got a million of 'em. And since the broadcast went out? That's pretty much blown the whistle on anything I couldn't say that wasn't my secret so … hey. You want stories; I'm your guy."

"I'll get the popcorn!" Wade called out before he darted out and down the hall.

"Bring water too!" Quill called after him.

"And someone tell Remy and the Hawks to come get comfortable," Peter said with a little grin Kurt's way.

From down the hall, they heard Wade shout at the top of his lungs, "HAWKEYE AND BOY HAWKEYE! GAMBLES! GET OVER HERE! STORY TIME!"

Quill just laughed and resettled. "You want to stay in here? Or should we find some place with couches?"

"It's your story hour," Peter replied. "You tell us."

"Couches it is."


	27. Happy Valentine's Day

**Chapter 27: Happy Valentine's Day**

* * *

 _February 14_

 _SHIELD BASE 1_

* * *

On the morning of Valentine's Day, Noh woke up well before Jubilee and very carefully climbed out of the snuggle she had him in — arms and legs akimbo across his chest with one hand hooked around his neck. She resettled into the pillows, and he smiled at the sleeping dark-haired girl he loved before he slipped into some clothes to head out — only to be surprised when he opened the door to their room to find a bottle of champagne just… sitting there, a note tied to the neck of the bottle.

 _Compliments of the Worthington estate,_ the note read, and Noh couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

He glanced down either side of the hallway but didn't see anyone there, so he picked up the bottle and brought it in, tucking it away in a dresser drawer so that Jubilee wouldn't see it and wonder what the occasion was before he could even propose — and then set off down the hall once more.

For those that weren't SHIELD agents on the base, there was a feeling of sort of camaraderie as everyone found ways to pitch in when they couldn't fight — so the stylists, escorts, and family members of SHIELD personnel had gotten to know each other over the past few weeks. Which meant that Noh knew his best bet for enacting his plan was May Parker, who made it a point to help make sure everyone was well-fed.

He wasn't surprised to find her helping get breakfast going, and she smiled at him as he slipped inside. "Do you mind?" he asked politely as he gestured at a pan.

"Go right ahead. We could always use an extra pair of hands," she said with an easy smile.

He nodded at that and then put his headphones in his ears, humming along to the playlist full of love songs he had queued up for the day as, for the next little while, he was perfectly content to help out in the kitchen making pancakes.

After a while, though, he checked the clock to see that it was a reasonable hour to wake up Jubilee and pulled out one of his earbuds. "Do you mind if we part ways for now?" he asked politely. "I have a dear, beautiful woman to spoil this morning."

May smiled warmly at him. "Of course. Go shower that girl with kisses. You two are darling, you know."

Noh smiled at that and grabbed the last little stack of pancakes he had been working on to take back to their room — though May noticed that these were all shaped in little hearts.

He was still humming to himself as he slipped back into the room, the pancakes and coffee balanced on a cafeteria tray as Jubilee started to stir awake from the smell of the breakfast in bed. "Good morning," he told her brightly as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I brought pancakes. And coffee." He arranged the tray between them and then leaned over to steal another kiss. "Happy Valentines Day, Jubilee."

"Happy Valentines," she replied with a sleepy smile before she ran a hand through her messy hair.

"I admit, I had plans for a more lavish breakfast than this, but there are some limitations here in that regard," he said with a little smile. "Imagine a bowl full of chocolates as well, and a bouquet of flowers."

"Why would I do that when I already get all the sugar I want with you?" she asked brightly.

He laughed and leaned forward to kiss her for that. "This is entirely true," he laughed. He paused, smiled a little wider, and added, "Though I was able to get something. It's not flowers…"

"If it comes with kisses, it's perfect," she said with a grin.

He smiled wider at that as he reached into the same pocket that he kept his music player in and pulled out a little ring — the same one he'd gotten before the Games. "It only comes with kisses if you agree to marry me," he teased.

"What?" she asked, completely taken off-guard. "Are you serious?"

"Very much so," he swore earnestly. "I would have asked you back in July, but…"

"Noh! _Of course_ I'll marry you!"

He laughed delightedly and pulled her into a long, lingering kiss, finding her hand through the kiss to slip the ring on with a stylist's hand without even looking so that by the time the kiss broke, she was wearing the diamond ring. "I love you, Jubilee," he told her softly.

"How did you even … you were _captured_!"

He had to smile sheepishly. "Yes, well, thank Black Bolt. He and the other victors knew what was happening, and he thought to bring this… as well as my music player… and a few precious items of Ian's… It was in my room at the time, or so I thought."

"That's amazing," she said before she managed to move a bit closer. "But you also said there would be more kisses."

"Yes, I did, didn't I?" he laughed before he simply kissed her into the pillows.

* * *

Logan had managed to sleep in past the whole hubbub that surrounded the two stylists' announcement, and all of the teasing and fallout that went with it to anyone that was attached — including the near-parade America had thrown, throwing Jubilee on her shoulders and everything.

The perks of running down Hill's list were only growing, as far as he was concerned. Since the broadcast, the 'buyers' in the Capitol had put two and two together on why those among their ranks were diminishing — and when he got to the target last night, who had been one of the rare ones to buy out time _regardless_ of whether the victor was male or female, the word was out, and people were scared.

So it wasn't just a simple slip in and slip out approach. There were bodyguards that had to be dealt with and security measures that were taken out as he went, though the actual job was quick — and he didn't listen to any of what was said. There was nothing that they could have said that could save them in Logan's estimation or anything that could have justified their actions.

Stopping by Worthington's next door to his mark to snatch a couple bottles of champagne was just the icing on the cake.

When he finally got up and headed out in search of coffee, he wasn't surprised to find that most of the place was empty, so he got a mug and headed down to see what kind of trouble Skye was getting into, since he _knew_ she had some kind of project that Fury'd asked her to take care of.

"Hope you didn't want coffee, because I only brought one," he said as he came in to say hello. "Sorry 'bout that. I got the last of it."

She glanced up in a bit of surprise and then laughed and shook her head. "No, I already had coffee, thanks," she said quickly, though she turned her laptop to try and hide what she was working on.

"Good," he replied, though he stopped to tip his head when he saw her hiding the screen. He didn't outright try to see what it was, instead heading over to set the mug down on her bedside table and drop down onto his side. "So… what's the big secret?"

"It's Fury's idea," she said quickly. "The wedding videos. I'm not … _wedding shopping_ ," she said with a horribly red-faced expression.

"On Valentines Day. You sure?" He had to smirk at her. "That's a new shade."

"May was here about ten minutes ago. She's been _unbearable_ ," Skye admitted. "She wanted to know if I was hoping for a proposal like those stylists, and I kicked her _out_."

"Didja tell her those stylists have been workin' on their line for a _long, long time?_ "

"That's what I said!" Skye threw up her hands as she put the laptop back on the table now that she wasn't trying to hide it — with beautiful, heart-warming pictures of Charles and Moira across the screen. "But she — she just likes to be horrible. And she thinks it's hilarious when she suggests things like that in front of Coulson."

"It's just to screw with him," Logan decided as he rolled onto his back and stretched out. "You can give it back to her, you know."

"I could, but then I would end up with all of the batteries stolen from my… everything. And I'd be missing every single left sock I own."

"Left socks. Right. Well, whenever you're done not thinking about flowers and place settings or whatever — I have somethin' that needs to be done today."

"Yeah?" She brightened a bit at the prospect. "I'm almost done here — just making sure the timing is right…"

"Good. I stole a few things last night from Worthington's place." He had to smile to himself. "And I got plans for the _other_ bottle of champagne I got on ice."

The grin got even wider, and she scooted her chair back so she could reach him to kiss him. "I'm literally sending this live in five minutes tops. Then I'm so there."

"No rush, but I'm warnin' you now. You only get one glass. The rest … like I said. Plans."

She let out a sigh. "One glass?" she teased.

He turned her way with a genuine troublemaking smile. "It's for a good cause, I promise."

"I'll be the judge of that," she laughed, then refocused her attention on her laptop for long enough to finish out her project — and then send it off to take over Capitol airwaves. It was honestly her favorite project so far, not only because she wasn't just piggybacking off of Ronan's broadcast but actually _breaking in_ but also because the difference between Charles and Moira versus Gamora and Quill was so obvious it bordered on the absurd.

But when she turned to declare that she was free to go, he took a look at the clock and settled back in. "Not for another fifteen minutes. It's all about _timing._ "

"Well, if I'd known that, I would have thrown in a few more shots of Moira," she teased.

"I _did_ say no rush, so go ahead - unless you aired it already," he replied.

"It's sent off," she admitted, then started to grin. "It's kind of brilliant, though. You're not going to see it for another thirty minutes. I've underwritten the whole thing into their programming on a delay, and I've masked it so if they try to find the source of the broadcast, it will take them back to their own sources."

"Oh, we should be busy by then," he teased. "With the good cause."

"That's okay; I have the final product here anyway if you want to watch it. Charles Xavier in particular just looks like he's going to _die_ of happiness in the first picture. It's the cutest thing I've seen in ages."

"Never thought 'cute' and Chuckles would be in the same sentence," he replied.

"Well none of us knew how far gone he was over _your escort,_ " she teased right back.

"Then no one was payin' attention," he countered. "The way those two tried _not_ to look at each other was ridiculous."

"Yeah, well, that whole time was a whole lot of badly kept secrets. Case in point — today's not-at-all-surprising stylist news. "

"I know — that was the _first_ bottle of champagne." He looked at the clock again. "Walk slow and we won't jump the gun."

"I'm sure we can find something to slow us down," she teased.

"You get caught up talkin' flowers and place settings with someone and I'm leaving you behind."

"You kidding?" She made a face. "I don't _want_ flowers and place settings any more than you do."

"I find that hard to believe for as much as you poured into that thing."

She paused and turned red for a long moment. "That's not… look. I'm a hopeless romantic. It's really sweet, okay?"

"I'll keep that in mind. But if that's true — you shouldn't have any trouble helpin' me set this up." He got up and offered her a hand to get to her feet.

She smirked. "Alright ... as long as _you're_ not talking flowers and place settings," she teased as she took his arm.

"No danger of that. I was more on the mindset of champagne and chocolate. Come on." The two of them headed down to his room, where he did, in fact, have a bottle of very expensive-looking champagne chilled — and a backpack with God knows what in it. He handed her the backpack and grabbed the bottle before he took her hand and the two of them worked their way down to Fitzsimmon's lab.

"Ten minutes before they get back from their break," Logan told her. "We gotta clear out anything they can use to break out and set up the other stuff." He flashed a fantastic, purely troublemaking grin her way. "It'll be fun."

She started to match his grin, nodding along. "Yeah, we're just going to have to move everything out. Some of this stuff I don't even know what it's _for_ , so it could be escapeable."

"We don't need to clear the whole lab," he pointed out before he showed her where one of the acrylic walls would come down to isolate a fire. "Just that much."

"What are you up to?" she teased, though she was already moving to clear things out.

"Help me and you'll see."

The two of them hustled to clear out one whole corner of the lab — and then he rushed to set up the rest of it, watching the hall for incoming science babies as he finally pulled out the glasses for all four of them and popped the cork on the bottle. "One glass," he said with a smirk as he handed one to her.

"Okay, you're right; I think this might just be a worthy cause for one glass," she said with a little smirk.

When the two scientists showed up not two minutes later, Logan and Skye were already on the opposite side of the lab with their glasses. He didn't miss a beat either. "We're toasting Jubes and Noh. Wanted to avoid the crowd. Keep with the low-key types — go grab your glasses."

"You — you did more than toast," Fitz said, looking distressed at the rearranged state of the lab.

"Would you rather have had me making a mess spilling booze all over the place?" Logan asked. "'Cause I can still do that. It's not too late."

"You could have waited for us," Simmons argued.

"Everything in this lab has a purpose," Fitz said.

"Unclench before I find a hammer," Logan replied easily. "Come on. Humor me."

"Don't worry — I'll help you put it all back later," Skye promised. "Now come on — I brought chocolate too."

"And that's not easy to come by around here," Logan added. "I won't tell you what I had to do to get it."

"No, no it's not," Simmons said, biting her lip. "Alright. Yes, I suppose we can't let that go to waste."

As soon as the two of them got all the way to the chocolates and champagne, Logan hit the switch to drop the walls — and effectively locked the two of them in. "Happy Valentine's," he said, lifting his glass their way. "May will be by in the morning to let you out."

Both of the scientists rushed to the walls, but of course, there wasn't a thing they could do about it. "You can't—" Fitz said.

"This isn't—" Simmons spluttered.

"Why would you _do_ that?" Fitz demanded.

"Just enjoy yourselves," he replied. "Figured this was the only way to get you two to spend five minutes without deflecting to your projects. Turns out May agreed."

"May?" Simmons looked completely betrayed.

"You don't have to — we _like_ working in the lab," Fitz tried to argue at the same time.

"She also told me to turn the heat up," Logan said as he leaned against one of the bare counters. "But I thought that was just … mean."

"That … sounds like her," Simmons said, her shoulders slumped the slightest bit. "At least there's that — I don't fancy being a lab rat in that heat."

"With nothing to drink but champagne," Logan said — painting the picture for her. "I'd advise taking a glass anyhow though. She'll probably leave you there if you don't do that much."

"She wouldn't," Fitz said.

"She would," Skye laughed, clearly enjoying herself.

"Told you it was a good cause," Logan said quietly to Skye before he tipped his glass back and finished it off.

"You know, there are doors on the lab exits that come down over the windows for when they work on secret projects," Skye said. "We'll have to hit those on the way out."

"Sounds like a good idea," he agreed before he turned back to Fitzsimmons. "Seriously. Enjoy yourselves a little bit _outside_ of work."

Both of the scientists shook their heads at him, but Skye couldn't contain the laughter anymore and took his arm to support herself. "Come on — let's get out of here," she said through her giggles. "That was beautiful."

He gave her a crooked smile as he set his glass down. "Think I might have a bottle of red back at my room if you don't have other plans."

" _Now_ you're talking."

* * *

 _February 15_

 _Fitzsimmons' Labs_

* * *

When May finally found her way down to the lab to check on the science babies, she had to pause at what she'd found. As it turned out — the two of them had, in fact, eventually finished off the bottle of champagne, and they were tangled up, sleeping soundly together on the floor — though, it didn't miss her attention that Fitz had obvious smears of Simmons' lipstick on his mouth.

She very quietly pressed the panel that would release the quarantine doors, smirking to herself as she considered her options. She could just leave them there and let them wake up to find their freedom… or she could let them know that someone else knew they weren't 'just' lab partners… no, the best thing to do was gather evidence to use against them the next time they claimed they were just partners.

There was a little pen-sized camera further back in the lab, designed to be quiet, and May took several pictures — of the champagne, the tangled way they were sleeping, the hand Fitz had in her hair, the lipstick smears … She nodded happily.

She slipped back out the door — hanging a sock on the handle just to make sure the others knew, before she headed down to Coulson's office with a satisfied, smug look on her face.

He was just waking up, coffee in hand and the morning report's on his desk, and he hardly looked up when she arrived — until she put the camera down on his desk. "Check it," she told him seriously. "It's new intel — just arrived this morning."

He frowned and picked it up to quickly download whatever was on the camera, but when the pictures came up on his screen, he stared at them in open shock. "What … what happened?"

"That kid was right, and I owe him a bottle of whiskey," May said, shaking her head. "All it took was a bottle of champagne and a locked door."

"You're kidding me," he said, shaking his head as he flipped through the pictures. "Did you wake them up?"

"Of course not!" She sounded offended at the idea. "They might have tried to explain it away before I could prove I was right!"

"So did you at least manage to psyche Skye out?"

She smirked at him and gave him a significant look, as if that much should have been obvious. "You should have seen her face when I told her that blues and yellows would be good colors for her."

"That's really not funny, May," he replied seriously.

"Come on, Phil," she said with a smirk. "You have to admit — it is."

"And where is our little hacker this morning? Fury wanted to congratulate her on the immediate backlash the Capitol got from that broadcast yesterday."

"Check the room down the hall and to the left," she said with a little smirk.

He gave her a dry look. "That's definitely not funny."

"You did ask where she was," May said with a shrug. "If you don't believe me, you can check her room, but if you're not up to it, I can tell her Fury wants to see her."

"You should let Fitzsimmons get a chance to get them back and send them down."

"But Phil… they need rest," May said with a very, very wide smirk. "Of course, if _I_ go, I may need to mention the flowers…."

"Okay. I dare you," he said decidedly.

May straightened up and settled out her shoulders. "You're on," she said as she turned on her heel and went back out the door, headed down the hall to Logan's room to knock on the door with a completely unreadable, professional expression.

"It's open," Logan called out, perfectly calm.

May slipped into the room and didn't let her expression slip in the slightest when she saw the way Logan was curled around Skye — and the fact that she was wearing one of his flannel shirts. Skye, on the other hand, was bright red, clearly aware of the situation but unable to get out fast enough to hide it, so she was only turning redder.

"Fury wanted to talk with you this morning," May told her. She paused. "I'm sure he'll want to see you fully clothed."

"How'd the lab turn out?" Logan asked with the same professional tone May was using. "Just 'cause I really want to hear you tell me."

"That's not necessary — I took recon pictures," she said evenly.

"I trust you to just say it," he replied.

"But the lipstick smears are so much better seen than described," she said, the slightest smirk tweaking her expression.

He smiled crookedly at her. "Thank you."

May smirked wider and then turned to Skye. "I wasn't kidding — Fury really does want to see you. He was impressed with the broadcast yesterday. Apparently, support has been _flooding_ in over the past several hours."

At that, Logan lifted his arm so she could get up right then if she wanted to. Skye was still bright red, but she climbed to her feet and tried in vain to make the flannel cover as much of her as possible. "Okay, okay. I'll be out in five minutes tops. Just… just leave please."

May smirked and then headed for the door. "You know the way to Fury's," she said. "Oh, and Skye? I think you should look into daisies."

When the door closed, Logan couldn't help but chuckle. "Clearly, we gotta play more poker."

"Okay, I'm not opposed to that? But you _really_ could have given me more backup there," she said as she found her jeans to pull them on.

He propped himself up on one elbow to look at her a little better, not concerned in the least at what was or wasn't covered. "What didn't I do?"

"You could have let me up to put something on - or at least pulled the covers up!" she said.

"Were you more or less exposed once you got up?" he asked. "And do you think she didn't know what was going on?"

She paused with one hand holding her shirt and the other leveling a finger at him. "That is not the point."

"Not like you have anything to be ashamed of," he replied.

"No — no — it's just… that's _May_ ," she said. "She's my SO!"

"Is … partial nudity a no-no? Because I didn't get that memo at all, and if that's the case, I'm in big trouble."

"It really doesn't count if you lose your shirt in a fight," she couldn't help but tease him.

"What about more than my shirt?" he asked, with what looked like a genuine concern.

"Still doesn't count if it was a fight, but you know, they do keep shock blankets in the jets," she teased.

"Didn't know that," he said, tipping his head to the side. "But I wasn't in shock either. So." He shrugged lightly. "How long were you gonna let that slide before you told me?"

She paused and grinned. "As long as I could."

"Well I'm not changing pattern now," he said.

She finished pulling on her boots and ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, well, you handle it differently than I do," she teased. "And I have a little more… that needs covering." She gestured at herself.

"I disagree, and that sounds like a challenge," he countered. "How much do you think I can lose before Miss Maria Hill says something?"

She paused and honestly considered it, the smile starting at the corner of her mouth. "Alright. You can't lose anything on purpose for the purposes of this bet," she started out. "But I'm betting you could wear America's short shorts and nothing else before she says something."

"I just want to level the field — since we're talking about being partly naked in front of an SO," he said.

"The circumstances are different, though," Skye said.

"I'll bet she wouldn't say anything unless it was a full monte."

"When I win, I expect a full bottle of champagne," she said with a smirk.

"Don't make a bet you're going to lose outright," he said shaking his head.

"Well, what are the stakes if _you_ win?" she shot back.

"Hell I don't know. Just don't flip out next time this happens."

"Fine." She hit the door and stuck her tongue out at him. "But I am right, and you know it."

"Good luck with Fury," he called back. "I'll be in the shower."

She grinned at him and slipped out into the hallway — after she'd checked both ways, just because there were still people like Viper out there that would _love_ to screw with Logan and she didn't want to give them any more ammunition — before she hit Fury's office, taking a moment one last time to make sure everything was in place before she entered.

When he saw her standing there, looking nervous, he had to try and keep from smiling — which was saying something. "Take a seat," he said as he watched her walk in. "That broadcast you sent out hit the Capitol hard. And I'm told you managed to do it while you weren't even around to make sure it stayed on."

"It was already embedded in their broadcast," Skye said with a little smile that she couldn't stop at her work. "If they'd cut the feed — which was the only way they could stop it — it would only have popped back up as soon as they started up again. I didn't have to do a thing once I did that."

He nodded appreciatively at that. "That's a fancy little trick," he said. "I'd like you to repeat it with more of those little … presents as you come up with good little spots like that, but that's not why I wanted to talk to you."

"Well, what did you want to talk about?" she asked, one eyebrow quirked up.

"I'd like to work with you personally on how to reveal the TAHITI program to the general public," he told her. "Obviously not right this moment, but we're going to need a plan in place on how to go forward."

Skye couldn't help it — she stared at him openly before she could get the reaction under control. "Yeah, absolutely," she said quickly.

"That does _not_ mean that you can talk to any of the _victors_ about it. Not yet." He was frowning hard at her as he finished clarifying. "Even though I know you would like to."

She let out her breath but nodded. "Alright, fine. Forward motion is still something, anyway. And I haven't told anyone yet," she added. "I do know how to keep _some_ secrets."

"Oh, I know. Because if you hadn't, I'm sure a certain someone would have been yelling in my office by now." He let out a breath and tried to level with her. "I need things to settle down a little bit before he can know. He's focused right now, and I don't want to change that."

"No matter how long you put it off, he _is_ going to try to throttle you," she said with a little smirk.

"Believe me, that is not the worst of my concerns," he replied. "I also know he'll get over it when he gets to see his friends."

She nodded, then straightened up a bit. "So. How do you want to do the reveal?" she asked. "Start with the victors, I'm assuming, but the public will eventually know… it's impossible to keep it secret for too long the more people know, and we'll want to get ahead of that."

"That will probably be the smart course of action," he agreed. "Not to mention that Logan's not the only victor that's going to be pissed off when the news comes out."

"Oh, America's only going to lose out to him because she'll have to fight off her little posse to get there first," Skye smirked.

"Every one of 'em's gonna be mad," he said with a little wave. "That's not what's important, though. Start working out a few ideas on how to break it to the public — _gently_. They will not be very happy to find out that some of their children were brought back and others were not. Maybe interview pieces with some of the more charismatic kids that can go up one at a time."

"I'd start with some of the more popular kids, too — or even some of the youngest. People have more sympathy for saving the smaller kids even if they're not personally attached."

"Yes, but it might be better to start with the ones that had the least devastating injuries — and make sure they talk about how sketchy the results have been. I'd like it clear that every single one brought back was nothing short of miraculous."

"Kamala would be a good start there," Skye said, already nodding thoughtfully. "Considering the fact that she lost her Games allies… and people genuinely liked her."

"Good, she's got all of your markers too. Little, well liked, and popular," Fury said. "The woman that sponsored her had _never_ donated before."

"I didn't know that," Skye said honestly. "But it doesn't surprise me. The second people realized she might actually have a shot, half the Capitol was pulling for her." She paused and thought about it some more. "I… would suggest Kurt Wagner as well. He's not as young, but he was extremely well-liked, and he was less injured that Kamala was."

"You might get more traction from Kate Bishop - there were a lot of disappointed people that she died the way she did."

"Well, I thought we wanted to start with less devastating injuries," Skye said.

"Yes, and work your way up. We don't need to highlight all of them. Just a varied selection."

"So, not Bruce Banner or Wade Wilson," she couldn't help but smirk.

"Not any time soon for Banner — and no, definitely not for Wilson. In fact, I think most of the Career kids we have are out. There's a lot of animosity from the outer districts right now."

"Well, I'm not surprised. The Sentinels have new orders, and none of them are pretty — I saw the new reports while I was in the Capitol systems," she admitted. "I know they haven't gone out yet, but even the early ones were rough."

"That's another thing that's going to be hard to balance," Fury said before he let out a long breath. "We need the Tahiti kids prepared for all of those orders." He fixed Skye with an almost forlorn look. "And I think we need to clear Mac Hudson to train them."

She looked honestly surprised to hear it, but even she had to admit, it was the perfect choice. "The only problems you'll have with him is the fact that his wife can't keep a secret for beans - and he'd want to tell Logan-"

"I know, he's loyal to his cousin," Fury said. "And he'll have to understand that he has to keep his mouth shut. I might have to outline the kind of things that Logan is doing right now — and the fact that the list needs to be blank before we can even consider arranging that meeting."

"You might mention what happened last time one of the Tahitis got captured, too — Peter told me that story," Skye suggested. "Mac's protective, especially of kids."

"I will," Fury said. "But I think it would be more fitting to outline the orders that have been put out from the Capitol if Logan's captured. There is now a protocol in place."

She bit her lip. "That would work," she said, only barely restraining from requesting to be there for that meeting.

"I trust I don't have to tell you that you can't talk to anyone about how this is going to be presented? Fury asked. "This is between you and me to handle. So I don't want any input from any outside sources. Not May, not Coulson, not the kids that you'll be interviewing … no one."

She took in a deep breath and nodded. "Not a soul," she agreed.


	28. Blended Families

**Chapter 28: Blended Families**

* * *

 _February 20_

 _SHIELD Base One_

* * *

Logan and Skye were helping the Hudson clan celebrate Josh's birthday. It wasn't the plan from the start — Logan had expected to simply drop off a little toy he'd picked up while he was running a mission and leave it at that, but when he tried to do only that, Josh had decided that he needed Logan to stay with them for the entire dinner.

Mac and Heather both were giving him the look, but the deciding factor — even if you could discount the adorable five year old clinging to him— was the fact that Elsie pointed out that they were alllllll family now, and his tiny cousin wanted him there.

So, not about to cross that kind of logic, Logan took a seat, and Josh immediately climbed up in his lap for the duration of the meal — sharing Logan's plate with him the whole time and occasionally whispering something to him before covering his mouth with both hands and giggling at his own jokes.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Logan could do to help Skye, who ended up sitting right next to Heather — and she was bound and determined to give her a hard time while Logan was occupied.

"I'm surprised we haven't seen you around more often," Heather was saying as Skye tried very hard not to look to Logan for help when he was occupied with the little kid in his lap.

"We've both been busy. You know I'm still an agent of SHIELD, right?" Skye pointed out.

"Oh, I know," Heather said, nodding with a bright expression. "But … I figured you two could be more _public_ now. Especially after seeing how our district's old escort and her sweetheart finally could show off _their_ hidden romance." She grinned at that. "I'm sure it wasn't as big of a secret for those of you that could see _behind_ the scenes."

"Well, yes and no on both counts," Skye admitted. "There are still some kind of dangerous people … you know. Revolution brought in all sorts against the Capitol, but that doesn't mean we're all _friends_." She looked down the table and bit her lip before she leaned toward Heather. "But I really didn't see Xavier and your escort flirting anywhere. At all."

Heather smirked at Skye's attempt to direct the conversation. "Yes, but that particular green-haired _problem_ isn't one that likes to be around where the families gather," Heather replied. "What's she going to do anyhow?"

"Oh, you know. Kill me," Skye said, waving her hand. "She doesn't even need Logan as an excuse; I already ticked her off."

"The way I understand it, everything ticks her off," Mac said quietly as Josh fell apart laughing with a big belly laugh that had both Mac and Heather turning their heads his way.

Skye watched for a moment as Josh tried to escape being tickled with a little smile as Logan looked their way with a totally straight face in spite of the fact that he was tickling the snot out of Josh. "Yeah, well, not everyone's as sweet as your family," she whispered back to Mac.

"Yeah, we're going to do massive amounts of damage to his reputation," Mac laughed. "Or he'll do it to himself."

Skye gestured at Logan and Josh, who was now trying to tickle Logan back with zero luck. "It's a lost cause, really."

The little guy had finally given up trying to tickle him and instead leaned against Logan's chest heavily with a smile still on his face when May Parker approached the group with a cupcake in her hands. And that in itself was a miracle, considering the way sugary sweets were rationed. There was no telling how May had gotten her hands on something when it _had_ to have come from somewhere off base, but then, May was surprisingly resourceful.

"I heard there was a very important birthday today," the older woman said with a big smile as she set down the cupcake in front of Josh. "How old are you today? You must be twenty! You're so big!" she declared.

Josh was half hiding again as Logan tipped his head down low to whisper something to him, and just as Mac decided to answer for him, Josh spoke up very softly. "Five."

"Five!" May smiled and pulled out exactly that many candles from a pocket on her apron — yet another feat of ingenuity and mystery. Not that anyone was going to question it when Josh was the target of the spoiling.

Again, Logan was whispering to the little boy, and again, Josh spoke up very quietly. "Thank you."

"You have very nice manners," May told him sweetly as she lit the candles for him and took a step back.

Josh looked up at Logan, and then to Mac and Heather, who both nodded at him before he closed his eyes and blew out his candles, only to giggle madly when he saw he'd gotten them all blown out. He pulled the cupcake closer to himself and started to very carefully pull out every candle, lick it, and hand it to Logan, sure to arrange the candles in Logan's hand so they were all facing the same way.

"He's absolutely darling," May said with fondness clear in her voice to Mac and Heather.

"Thank you," Mac said with a wide smile. "You should join us. He doesn't like to talk to anyone, so the fact that he talked to you …"

"Oh, well, my Peter was the same way when he came to us after losing his parents. They grow out of it," May assured him as she took a seat. "By the time he was ten, we couldn't get him to _stop_ talking!"

"Yeah," Logan said with a nod. "I'll bet Josh ends up being just as smart too." He looked over to Mac and Heather to explain. "Mac and Heather Hudson, this is May Parker — Petey's Aunt."

"How do you do," May said politely.

Logan leaned down to whisper to Josh again as Mac and Heather rushed to shake her hand and try to introduce all the kids. "I'm Josh," the little guy piped up before Heather could do it for him.

"Hello, Josh," May said before she found herself flooded with a half dozen introductions — Elsie Dee, of course, being the loudest and fastest to introduce herself after Josh. Then there were Elsie's two right hands — the twins, though they weren't actually related but looked and acted so much alike everyone called them that: Maisie and Maddie. Then there was Kelly, who was very proud to tell May that _her_ birthday was next month and she was going to be _seven_ — and Oliver, who was a year older than Elsie but absolutely didn't stand in her way except to 'look out' for them because he was the oldest at "almost ten."

Aunt May stayed, patiently listening to the kids as Josh ate his cupcake — though he was sure to feed some to Logan too. She watched out of the corner of her eye as the little guy finally settled down, his little teddy bear clutched to his chest as he fell asleep on Logan's shoulder. And that was Mac's cue to break up the party.

"I hate to do this guys, but Josh needs to go to bed," he said as he took the sleeping birthday boy from Logan and the others all said their goodbyes to Aunt May. Kelly even made a point to give her a hug before the Hudsons finally got on their way, waving on the way out.

"You're absolutely wonderful with that whole family," Aunt May told Logan with a warm smile. "It's clear those kids love you."

He almost grimaced and shrugged slightly. "Mac's my cousin," he said, as if that was the only explanation for it. "And they're all orphans."

"You must be close then," Aunt May said. She smiled at him and reached over to put a hand on his arm. "I've been meaning to speak with you, actually," she admitted.

He looked as if he was being put on the spot for a moment before he nodded. "Alright, what can I do for you?"

"Oh no — I'm not asking anything," she tried to explain. "I just wanted to get the chance to thank you. Not only for taking care of Peter and Gwen but, apparently, this old woman," she said, gesturing at herself.

Logan looked uncomfortable at that and dropped his gaze to his hands. "Didn't really do anything."

"I think those of us that you've helped will have to disagree with you," she said as, almost on cue, another one of Logan's old teammates' family members appeared, and Margali sat down with them with a small smile and introductory wave.

"Hello, May," she said warmly before she turned to Logan. "How do you do. I'm Margali. Kurt's mother."

"You two know each other?" Logan replied a bit softer than he'd been while talking to Aunt May.

"We've had the chance to get to know each other on the base," Margali said. "There aren't very many other older women around here — at least, not those without SHIELD uniforms and far more training than is necessary."

"And we came into the base at the same time," Aunt May added in explanation. "Along with those children from Twelve and your family from Seven."

"The kids in Twelve didn't have anything to do with me," he said quietly.

"That's not entirely true," Margali said with a warm smile. "You've met Susan, haven't you? I really don't think twenty-two counts as old enough."

Logan paused as he wondered if she'd realized that twenty two was still a few years ahead of where he was. She _had_ to. "Yeah, I met her," he said with a nod and a frown as he glanced toward Skye to see if she had anything to do with this one, though she was caught up in conversation with Susan's husband — the two of them had also apparently joined the party.

"I really can't thank you enough for what you've done for my kids," Margali told him softly. "For Kurt and for the twins."

"Don't … don't do that, please," he said, shaking his head lightly, back to watching his hands.

"You can't think I believe any of what the Capitol said," Margali said, shaking her head.

"It's not that. I just didn't really do Kurt any _good_ ," Logan said.

"Nonsense," Margali scoffed.

Logan paused and glanced up at her on hearing the familiar tone. "Guess I'll just have to disagree with you then."

Margali seemed to frown at him further for a moment, but then two more people joined the steadily growing group — a pair of lanky blondes that pushed their way into seats on either side of Logan.

"So," said the girl. "You look like you could use a good race."

"You're way too young for this crowd," the boy agreed with a teasing grin that immediately fell when Margali gave him a sharp look and he muttered, "Not… not _too_ much though."

"Don't need a race," Logan muttered under his breath as he turned to look at the two of them on either side.

"Yeah, well, we're not allowed to do anything more dangerous until we're fourteen," the girl admitted.

"We practically are," the boy added.

"Dangerous or fourteen?" Logan asked with one eyebrow raised, unable to not take the open invite.

"Yes," they replied in tandem with a grin and a nod.

"We were sabotaging Sentinels when we were _twelve_. We don't have to be any older to join SHIELD," the girl complained.

"My cousin was a Sentinel," Logan told her with a perfectly straight face.

The twins glanced at each other on hearing it. "A good one or a bad one?" the girl asked.

"You tell me. He's the one with a gaggle of kids."

"Wait, that's your _cousin_?" the girl asked, wide eyed. "Law breaking Sentinel?"

"Yeah, why?" Logan asked. "You plannin' on takin' him down?"

"No," the boy said.

"We _could_ , but we won't," the girl clarified. "He's nice."

"Oh, right, hey, we should introduce ourselves," the boy said. "I'm Stefan."

"Amanda," the girl chimed in with a smile as she held out her hand for Logan to shake.

He gingerly took her hand and shook it. "Charmed. So what was your plan here? Because obviously, this was planned."

The twins grinned at each other, laughed, and then leaned forward. "Well, Mom and Aunt May wanted to meet you," Stefan said.

"And you never stopped by after Susan invited you," Amanda added.

"And then after the broadcast went live, they thought you might be avoiding us," Stefan explained.

"Which is _dumb_. Why would you avoid _us_?" Amanda laughed.

"Pretty sure I can come up with a few reasons," Logan replied, barely able to get a word in edgewise with these two speaking in Fitzsimmons-like rapid-fire.

"Well, that's just stupid," Amanda decided. She grinned at him with her head tipped to the side before she nodded. "You want to come with us? We were going to go to the hangar and watch the jets come in."

"You don't have to stay," Stefan clarified.

"I get enough of looking at the jets," Logan said as he shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but if these ladies wanted something—"

"Oh, no — they just wanted to meet you," Amanda whispered.

"We _wanted_ to let you know that you're _welcome_ anytime," Margali clarified.

"No offense, but … why?" Logan asked.

Margali and May glanced at each other. "Because you're part of this group, whether you admit it or not," May told him outright, her voice a bit stern as she added, "Or didn't you realize that when you put yourself on the line for our sakes? You're not alone in wanting to protect these people."

Logan met her gaze and held it for a good long time. "I didn't think about it like that."

"Well, now you know," May said simply before her gaze softened the slightest bit. "So you really should feel free to say hello. We won't bite."

Logan nodded once as his brows drew together. "The truth is, I'm not around much," he told her. "I'm not very good with people, and it's generally safer for everyone if I keep my distance."

"Nonsense. When you find the time, please stop by. It's nice to see a friendly face, even in passing," May said.

While Logan was chatting with May, though, Skye had managed to get out of the conversation with the Bishops to grab Stefan by the arm and lean in to whisper something. His whole face lit up, and he turned Logan's way with pure excitement in his eyes. "Do you _really_ teach people how to fight?" he asked.

Logan let out a heavy sigh, and his shoulders dropped as he shot a glance Skye's way that told her exactly what he thought of her throwing him under the bus like that. "Yeah, a little bit," he admitted. "It's not — it's more like self defense and combatives."

"Oh please, _please_ could we come too?" Amanda asked, her eyes wide.

"Have to clear it by someone," Logan said before he looked to Skye again with a completely unamused expression. "That'd double it from what there was to start with."

"We're fast learners," Stefan promised.

"And we won't get in the way," Amanda added.

"And it would just be until we're fourteen in April," Stefan said.

"Right — and then SHIELD will let us _help_ ," Amanda agreed.

"You really don't have to if it's not manageable," Margali told him, though her gaze was on the twins and looked stern — clearly warning them not to push Logan when they didn't _know_ him yet.

"Oh, he's got plenty of room for extras," Skye offered. "He gets through the three of us with no problem, and our fourth that'll be joining us is a stylist."

"A stylist that punched Victor Creed," Logan clarified, trying to ensure them that it wasn't just fluff.

"Oh wow!" Amanda's eyes widened.

"He probably deserved it a hundred times over," Stefan muttered, though that again earned him a little look from Margali. He didn't look properly abashed for that one, though — he clearly had his own opinions on the matter.

"He's gotten it a couple hundred times over since then," Logan assured him.

"Well, that's a good group, right?" Amanda asked. "It sounds like everyone knows what they're doing?" Her gaze was on Margali and practically pleading.

"It's not that intense of a group," Skye said, clearly digging the hole deeper for Logan as he glared her way. "I'm in the tech field, and the other two are science division."

Both of the twins grinned wider at that. "Please?" they both said together.

"All but the stylist are _field agent_ s," Logan said with a dry look Skye's way. "And he's a friend."

"Well, we used to blow up Capitol buildings in Nine," Amanda said.

"Logan taught _eight kids_ how to fight outside of official training before the Games," Skye added. "He had Kamala Khan throwing people twice her size over her head."

The twins did a double take as their eyes widened "Please?" the twins repeated again while clearly, even Margali was starting to break.

She let out a sigh and turned to Logan. "It's your class, so it's decision."

"I'm not sure that it is," he replied, watching the twins dance in place.

"Then you'll do it?" Stefan grinned at him.

"It's really a totally different scope than what SHIELD teaches," Skye said — obviously pleased with this turn of events. "It already saved my life. Just sayin'."

"Then he'll do it," Amanda said decisively, clapping her hand on her knee in a move so much like Kurt, that Logan was taken off guard. "When can we start?"

"I'll come find you and bring you myself. It's in a private gym," Skye said.

"Can I observe?" Margali asked.

"Please," Logan said, scrubbing a hand over his face and wondering how it was that he'd managed to get himself volunteered for this mess. "Clearly, we need an adult."

"Alright, great!" Stefan reached across Logan to high-five his sister. "We're actually going to get to _do_ something around here! Thanks a million!"

"We really only slow down in our classes if _someone_ is slow getting back from a mission or if that someone gets _hurt_ ," Skye said pointedly as she raised an eyebrow Logan's way.

"Does that happen often?" Margali asked, looking over Logan with a look of concern and a mother's practice gaze.

"No," Logan said at the exact time that Skye said 'yes'.

"Well, obviously. I mean. You don't fight _Ronan_ and not get in danger," Stefan said, shaking his head.

"I didn't get hurt on that run," Logan defended as he glanced over at Margali.

"No, he gets hurt just walking outside," Skye teased. "It just _happens_."

"Like when?" Logan asked, looking mortally offended.

"Chronologically or alphabetically?" she shot back.

"How about either, sassbox" he replied.

"Well, how about the most recent one — didn't you lose most of your shirt in that blast?" she asked.

"My _shirt_ doesn't count as an injury," Logan pointed out.

"It was a big enough blast to take out the shirt and leave a mark," Skye argued.

" _Ash_. There was no mark. It was ask. No burns. No bleeding. No broken anything. Doesn't count," Logan said with a dismissive wave.

"But it counts as _fun_ ," Skye said, with a totally different kind of troublemaking smile on now.

Amanda cleared her throat loudly. "So ... we'll see you later," she said, nodding to her brother as he stood up as well.

"Right, we should leave you two alone," Stefan agreed — and both of them moved to usher their families off.

As the twins tried to slink off, Logan had regained some of his steam and raised his voice slightly. "Come with them to _one_ lesson," Logan called out to Margali. "If you don't like the way it runs, I won't let them back in the room."

"I'll hold you to that," Margali called back — to the twins' obvious horror.

With that, the group dispersed, and as Logan and Skye headed out too, he turned her way with a little scowl. "You tryin' to make me into a teacher?"

"Hey, it can't be too hard. They made me one, and you turned out okay," she teased easily.

"Those are some bad decisions, Director."

"Early days," she said, waving her hand.

He shook his head and still looked a little irritated, but he shook it off and bumped her shoulder with his. "You ever clear off your laundry?"

"Well, it's all in a basket now," she said with a sheepish smile.

"Then you pick," he told her.

"My place," she said with a little nod. "While it's relatively organized."

* * *

 _February 21_

 _Tahiti Wing of SHIELD Base One_

* * *

Skye headed down to get started on Fury's new project bright and early — or, at least, as bright and early as she could handle.

Her space heater had gotten up way too early for her tastes — already hitting the missions hard, as per Hill's request. It turned out that after the Capitolites realized that those that had preyed on the victors were being murdered, they all began to scatter, so Logan's job of finding them and ending them was taking a lot more work than it had before. Especially considering that now it meant that he had to go further out to get them — away from the Capitol as he tracked them down in the districts.

But when she met up with Kamala in the Tahiti Wing, Kamala was the opposite — all bright eyes and smiles and ready to go despite how early it was. "Hey, Skye! Long time no see!"

"Just the girl I was looking for," Skye replied. "Are you ready to get started?"

Kamala nodded as she took a seat and then smoothed out the fabric of her jeans and straightened her shoulders. "Coulson said you had a _secret_ project," she said, and though she was trying with all her might to rein in her excitement, it was bleeding through her every movement.

"And I'll bet he spoiled my surprise and told you what it was, didn't he?"

Kamala laughed. "He just said you wanted to do, like, an interview. He didn't say what, but he _swore_ it wasn't like Tivan in the Games, but an _actual_ interview." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "That doesn't sound too hard, but it doesn't sound very exciting either." She trailed off for a moment and looked honestly disappointed about it before, finally, she cleared her throat and nodded. "Right, so ... what did you want to ask about?"

"Well, we're going to set it up to tell the other victors about Tahiti," Skye told her with an uncontrollable grin. "And then the public, of course. That's actually what the interviews are for. The public."

Kamala's entire expression morphed into a huge grin, and she looked like she might tackle Skye into a hug. "Really?" She let out a little disbelieving laugh. "When? How soon? Can we tell the others? That's amazing!"

"Let me break it to them, please," Skye said. "This part of the deal is going to be kind of delicate, and I don't want anyone getting too excited before it's all figured out. I still have no idea how to make this work yet."

"But isn't it obvious? You just _tell_ people. The truth!" Kamala shook her head.

"In normal person terms? Yes. But we have to translate it to super spy first, so …"

"Why?" Kamala asked, honestly confused. "Shouldn't it be easy? We're not in the Capitol anymore."

"Honestly? I don't understand why it has to be so difficult. I mean, I have the basic reasoning, but … it's … Fury. And Fury's running this show … and he is _the_ super spy, so we have to do it his way."

"Oh." Kamala nodded her understanding. "Well… that does make it harder, I guess. But I'll try to help if I can, I promise." She grinned at Skye. "Whatever you need!"

Skye nodded and set up her recording equipment. "I'm just going to ask about how you've been doing since you came back, and I have a few basic questions, but you're welcome to tell any stories, talk about _anything_ you want. I can edit everything I need, and it's even better if I have more than just the basics to work with."

Kamala nodded brightly, watching Skye set up, and by the time the interview really got rolling, already the youngest member of Tahiti was brimming with excitement and stories — all about how she had already learned so much from the labs and the older kids and the technology they had available. How she'd read everything she could get her hands on — from technical manuals to novels. How she had already made so many friends…

By the time Kamala left the room, almost going hoarse from how much she'd excitedly babbled, Skye was left stunned by the whole thing. That little girl was smart. She was _adorable_ , yes, but she was already well on her way to being one of the top minds in SHIELD when she grew up. And she was charming; she got along with everyone and didn't have a hurtful bone in her body.

 _That's probably what Simmons looked like as a kid_ , Skye thought as she made sure to back up all her files and prep for the next few kids.

But they were all like that. Every interview she did that day left Skye stunned. It was much more than reading through files and personality profiles — much more even than having them in her class when she was focused on teaching them and not on what else they were doing (unless it was spitballs from the older Hawkeye, in which case she did care about what he was doing).

She only had a handful of them, but still she had no idea how she was going to boil down the public message. Her instinct was to show _everything_. The way Tony lit up talking about Pepper. The way Kurt spoke about his family. The way Cassie waved with just her fingers at the camera every time she talked about her parents back home. These were some of the nicest kids Skye had ever met.

And that was probably what she would highlight in the public message — these sweet kids doing such good work behind the scenes of the revolution.

What probably wouldn't make it to the final cut? The details she saw that made these kids _formidable._

She already knew that Tony was a force to be reckoned with in the tech world, but she was stunned by how _sharp_ Kitty Pryde was when they'd chatted about her equipment. And she'd known that Kurt was a sweetheart, but she hadn't expected to see the flash of dangerous fury when she admitted she didn't know when they'd be able to _start_ this project's release. She knew that both Miles and Peter were bright — they were some of her best go-to kids if Stark was busy and she needed some tech backup — but to hear Peter recount some of the missions they'd run, it was clear these kids were resourceful, tactical, quick on their feet….

There were kids that Skye had begged Coulson to take off the list. And then interviewing them, _frustratingly_ , she found she was almost — _almost_ — siding with Fury. These kids were something special. There was just… no need to kill them first, and that was the argument she'd maintain.

She finished out the day with an interview with Billy — who had _gushed_ about the medic course he was taking for an entire half an hour — and by the time she packed up her things, she was wearing a permanent grin. She couldn't help it. These kids were fun to talk to. They were smart, funny, _genuine_.

At this point, the only thing slowing her down from telling Fury she was ready to go _now_ was the fact that… well… she couldn't hijack a Capitol feed for seven full hours of interviews. She'd have to cut _something_. Edit it down. Pare down the ramblings and pauses…

She wanted to air it tomorrow. Show all of Marvel the kids that had helped in the revolution, made it possible. Show the Capitol that the kids they had been scared of and tried to kill — they were _right_ to be scared of these kids.

She had to leave her laptop in the Tahiti Wing, though. It could _never_ leave the Tahiti Wing, and it was locked in Coulson's office and in a safe only she and Fury knew the combination to. Which meant, frustratingly, that it would take her a little longer to edit down the messages she wanted. She couldn't spend _all_ her time in Tahiti, after all. People would notice.

People like the guy coming down the hall after a mission with surprisingly little left to his uniform.

"You did that on purpose," she couldn't help but tease him, gesturing at the torn clothes and not bothering to hide the fact that she was looking him over.

"Can't prove it," Logan countered, chin high. "And she didn't blink."

"I said short shorts and nothing else. You still have… I can tell where the shirt used to be," she teased him.

"Just the collar." He gave her a little smirk. "I've got all of about six hours before I head out again."

"What?" She shook her head and slipped her arm through his. "That is _not_ enough time."

"I'm not picking the time frames," he pointed out. "Just trying to act on their intel."

"Yeah, I know, but still. I'm in a good mood — great new project — and six hours is not enough time to celebrate being in a great mood," she teased. "Not if you're going to need sleep before the next one."

"Take it up with your underlings, Director," he teased. "I'm just the clean-up guy."

"I'll just have to dock their salaries," Skye laughed.

He chuckled at her before he let out a breath and gave her the rest of the news. "Might be a longer one too."

She stopped and looked his way with a more critical eye. "That is just… the _timing_."

"What's wrong with the timing?" he asked with a little frown.

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm just in this great mood… I mean, it'll give me more time to work on this new thing, which I love, but…" She shrugged. "It's weird timing. I can't decide if it's nice to have that extra time or if I want to lodge a complaint for raining on my mood."

"Not like I'm goin' anywhere," he pointed out. "Outside of hunting down creeps and killing them. Rhodey's alright company. Comes up with a few good suggestions now and again."

"I bet he does," Skye couldn't help but smirk.

"There were a few that really struck him the wrong way. I take my time with them." He gave her his best attempt at a seriously angry expression, though it really wasn't complete while he was so amused.

"I've told you your sense of humor is warped, right?" she said.

"Dark. It's dark. Not warped," he corrected, then paused. "Maybe a little warped. But I'm not joking."

She blinked at him for a moment and then let out a long breath. "I know you're not," she said. "And to be honest, these people deserve it. I helped Hill put some of those names on that list, so I know ... just… _ugh_."

"You know the paper side of it," Logan pointed out as he slowed down. "You don't know what they're like face-to-face or what they actually did."

She stopped fully to face him and then simply kissed him as she had to agree. "You're right."

"I need to hose off before I hit the sack. Get the stench of loser off of me," he told her as he glanced down at himself for a moment. "If you're free ... I'll be the one tryin' to sleep."

"I'll be the one making that difficult for you," she replied with a little grin.

"Great. Oh, hey ... I stole a coffee pot for my room too. So, no reason to rush off anywhere in the morning." He gave her a quick kiss before he slipped off to find something more substantial than what was left of his uniform. "Don't get too comfortable without me."

"Never gonna happen," she laughed.


	29. SHIELD Has the Best Teachers

**Chapter 29: SHIELD Has the Best Teachers**

* * *

 _February 23_

 _Jubilee and Noh's Room_

* * *

When Noh returned from training with Logan, he was still grinning to himself. The lessons were so much more fun since Logan had taken on a pair of fourteen-year-old twins, Kurt Wagner's siblings, to train. They were so enthusiastic about _everything_ , and it hadn't taken long at all before they were needling each other and their fellow trainees, so the whole lesson had been an exercise in trying — and failing — to contain his laughter.

"I didn't think fighting would make you so happy," Jubilee commented. "I like it, though."

He laughed and swept her up in a quick kiss. "Well, some of the moves are much like dancing," he told her as he spun her for an example. "But that is not what has me in such a good mood."

"Oh? What did it this time? New song? Or did you find chocolate?"

"If I had, you'd have known it the moment I arrived," he teased her. "No, Logan has a pair of new students, and I have never laughed so hard in my life. They are a force of nature, and they simply bowl their instructor over with pure enthusiasm. It's a sight to see."

"Okay, that sounds like a good time," she had to admit.

"They're from Nine — the little twins that belonged to Kurt Wagner; do you remember?" he asked, still smiling.

"Yes, I remember — adorable little things," she said with a laugh before she just had to kiss him.

"And Skye was encouraging them the whole time," Noh said, laughing at the memory. "The three of them in tandem seem to be nigh unstoppable."

"Encouraging trouble in that class," she said before she let out a little noise. "Not surprised."

He kissed her quickly, and when he was done, he kissed her again for longer. "You have not seen them pick on each other the way they do," he told her softly.

"Well how can I when she insists on staying a _secret,_ hidden-away, super SHIELD agent?"

"You could come with me to the lessons," Noh offered. He broke into a little teasing smile. "I could use a good dancing partner."

"Oh? Is there dancing too?"

"As I said, some of these moves are very similar to dancing — easy to learn if you know how to follow cues like that," Noh told her with a smile.

"I'll have to think about it — though that might be the only way I get to _see_ who this person is that's pestering my victor."

Noh couldn't help but tease her. "Would it help or hurt if I told you she's my sparring partner more often than not?"

She gave him a little look. "Oh. So she's got you brainwashed too, huh?"

"To be fair, the other students are a couple and a set of twins," Noh pointed out.

"Then … maybe I _should_ go," she replied. "Maybe I need to think about helping out somehow."

"It really is fun to learn, and observers are welcome. The twins' mother came with them to be sure they weren't learning anything too shocking," Noh told her. "She is sweet. I see where Kurt got his manners from."

"Well, I guess if you're okay with me utterly wiping the floor with you …"

His grin widened. "What? And have to let you pin me? Outlandish," he teased.

"That's it, mister, you're on," she said poking him in the chest — but then following it up with a kiss. "You won't have to _let_ me do anything, because I'm going to take you _down._ "

* * *

 _February 26_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

It had taken several weeks for those that knew about the paths using the ductwork to get used to the new layout — and Remy had been the one to figure out how to use them to get to _some_ parts of the other side of the building. They were still on a separate system from the rest of the base, but they could get further past the guards than ever before — and knew who was coming to visit before they were even through the last checkpoints.

So if they _wanted_ to, they just had to get through two coded doors to get to the other side of the base. Which, Remy and Clint both assured Kate, was really not that hard.

Add to that the news that Skye had brought, that SHIELD was getting ready to find a way to tell its personnel and the victors the biggest secret in SHIELD, and there was plenty of excitement to go around.

And besides, the restrictions were already much lighter around Tahiti. Even if some of the decisions were tactical — SHIELD couldn't exactly lock them in at night when half of them were running night missions — it was still just… a totally different feeling at this new base, one that the kids were absolutely taking advantage of.

For example, Kate was laid out on Kurt's bed with her head in his lap as they hung out together, just enjoying each other's company _well_ after the doors would have been locked and curfew enforced at the old base. Just chatting about their families, and how much had changed, from the information they were able to get from the likes of Coulson's team and others.

"It has to happen before April," Kate told Kurt as he brushed his fingers through her hair over his knees. "Fitz said that's when Susan's due, and I'm _not_ going to miss that."

"And the twins turn fourteen at the beginning of the month," Kurt told her. "It would be nice not to miss any more birthdays than necessary."

"Didn't you tell me it was the first of April?" she asked. "So that means March. Don't give them a heart attack on their birthday, Kurt. That's just _mean_ , even if it is good news," she teased him.

"I still think it would be an impressive entrance," Kurt said with a grin.

"That's because you're so dramatic," she laughed.

"I can't help it," he replied easily. "And it's fun to think of the best way to tell them."

"You'd just like to pop out of their cake and scare them half to death," she accused him.

"Yes, in a cloud of blue smoke," he agreed, grinning.

"You're just spoiled after that parade entrance. Everything has to be a spectacle with you," she giggled.

"It _was_ amazing," he laughed. "But you can blame my stylist for spoiling me."

"I'll have to have a word with him," she agreed. "I heard they brought the stylists back — all the good ones, anyway. I mean, mine and Logan's are _engaged_ , so we'll have to be there for that," she laughed.

"Which, if you listen to how Skye tells it, that could happen at any moment," Kurt said with a grin.

"Yeah, apparently there's just something about Twelves and Sevens in the Capitol," Kate teased, purely to get the look he saved for just _that_ kind of joke out of him.

"Very funny."

"I'm hilarious and you know it," she said with a crooked grin before she sat up slightly to kiss him. "It's why you like me." She paused, bit her lip, and grinned even wider, "But I promise not to make horrible jokes when I meet Margali and the twins."

He had to laugh at that as he returned the kiss. "Yes, I would appreciate it if you _didn't_ tell my family you're interested in anyone but me," he teased.

"Like they'd believe I'm anything but nuts for you," she shot back. "I thought you said they were smart, Kurt. Give them some credit."

"Still, it's bad form to lie when you're meeting your boyfriend's family," he teased her lightly. "Even if you are just joking."

"True," she had to admit, then let out a long sigh. "I _guess_ I'll just have to tell them all about how cute you are."

"They already know that. I've always been this way," he said with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Well. Then I guess that's it. No need to meet the family — you already have it all planned out," she teased. "What they'll say, think…"

"That's not what I said at all, Kate," Kurt laughed, though he paused and added, "But if you don't want to say hello just yet—"

"Yeah, I'm not shy," Kate waved him off, even if Kurt could tell that she was at least a little nervous about it despite her protestations to the contrary. "I want to meet your family, Kurt. They sound so amazing whenever you talk about them."

"They are," Kurt said with a little nod as he shifted to get more comfortable beside her. "And they'll love you."

"Of course they will," Kate said with a crooked grin. "How could they not?"

"It's impossible not to," he agreed.

"That's why we work," she told him, still grinning. "You're impossible not to love; I'm just a big ball of cuddles… Now all we need is our missing teammate so we can double date."

He matched her grin with one of his own as he leaned down to steal another kiss. "Yes, and it won't be much longer," he agreed.

* * *

 _February 28_

 _Secret SHIELD Training Room_

* * *

"I hope you don't mind, Logan — I brought my Jubilee today," Noh said as he arrived at the scheduled lesson that morning.

Naturally, Jubilee made her way over to bear hug Logan as a means of saying hello and to make it harder for him to say no.

"She should probably know how to take care of herself. Like an angry kitten right now," Logan agreed over the top of her head. "All fluff and hiss."

"Oh, I'll show you," Jubilee said, putting a finger in the center of his chest before she smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Bring it," Logan replied with an amused little smirk.

"Oh, are we already fighting Logan today?" Amanda called out as she and Stefan arrived.

"I thought that was later," Stefan agreed with a grin.

Jubilee turned with Logan to greet the incoming twins, then she shoved him in the shoulder and all but skipped over to introduce herself. "Jubilation Lee — call me Jubes, please."

"Call me Stefan," said the young blonde before he thumbed over his shoulder. "And call her the second one."

"I'm Amanda," she said, shaking her head at her brother. "It's nice to meet you in person. Noh talks about you _all the time_."

"Nonstop," Stefan agreed.

"It would be annoying if it wasn't so adorable."

"Are you going to fight over who plays with Jubes?" Logan asked. "Or are you going to have a tea party instead?"

"No reason we can't do both," Amanda teased.

"Yeah? That's how we'll start it then — fight for who spars with Jubes," Logan decided.

The twins broke out into little grins at that, already squaring off. "You're already the most popular sparring partner here," Noh teased her as they watched the twins. "I'm not surprised in the least."

"Always so shocked," Jubilee said as she bumped him with her hip.

It wasn't too long after Amanda had totally pinned her brother that the other three showed up — Fitzsimmons holding hands and Skye wearing a little smile, though she paused when she saw Jubilee. "Oh hey. You joining the crew too?" she asked.

"Why? You worried?" Jubilee shot back over her shoulder, with her arms crossed.

"About what?"

"Nothing," Jubes said, shrugging one shoulder up and smirking wickedly.

"Be nice," Logan warned her quietly.

"Hey, no poaching my sparring partner!" Amanda called out as she let Stefan up. "I won her fair and square."

"No worries," Jubilee called out before she skipped forward. "You're all mine!"

Logan turned to Fitzsimmons and Skye. "Rock, paper scissors for your partners," he told them. "It's very scientific."

"It is not," Simmons couldn't help but say almost immediately after he said it. Which of course only got a little laugh out of him.

"Do it anyhow."

Both Fitz and Simmons looked put out, but they went along with it — which was how Fitz ended up with Skye as a partner, and Stefan zipped over to claim the remaining SHIELD agent.

The lesson was another one that the twins immediately declared as the best ever as Logan and Noh ended up demonstrating how to do a few much more refined throws and disarming exercises to the rest of them.

The upside to working with Logan, of course, was that whoever was paired up with him ended up getting the benefit of immediate correction before they could attempt to do it incorrectly. So naturally, Noh had it down cold before much time had passed — and when he had it down, it was time to change partners. And he wasn't at all subtle in trying to get Jubilee to watch as Skye stepped up to Logan with a completely unhidden grin.

"So. How remedial are we goin' today?" Logan asked.

"Hey. I've been practicing," Skye said. "I'm at least low-level. Never remedial."

"Yeah? Since when?"

"Since my favorite teacher wasn't here yesterday," she teased. "I had to outsource."

"Oh. Well, tell May she's wrong."

Skye laughed outright. "You tell her. It's more fun. When I do it, I just get the _look_."

"When I do it, I get a bottle of whiskey," he replied with a little smirk. "It's like magic."

"Like I said — more fun."

"Alright, troubles. Bring it." He waited, to give her a chance to try on her own, and to Jubilee's surprise, she did the moves without more correction than a grip on _one_ of the holds. "What did you and May do yesterday anyhow?" he asked from the mat.

"Actually, it was me and a few younger agents. Learning by teaching," Skye said with a smile.

"Oh, that's funny," he said. "What are you learning?"

"That I can get totally taken down by some of the youngest agents in SHIELD. It's not fair," Skye laughed, which of course, only prompted the twins to jump in.

"Bet we're younger," Amanda said.

"And we'll still totally wipe the floor with you," Stefan said with his chin tipped up and his chest puffed out.

"Who, her?" Logan asked, pointing up at Skye. "Possible."

"But not you?" Amanda put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, no chance," he replied before he sat up. "And I promised your mother you wouldn't go back to her crying."

"That is just mean and hurtful," Amanda said, shaking her head.

"And true," he argued.

"Yeah? Money where your mouth is," Stefan said. "Both of us versus you."

"Just the two of you?" Logan asked with a trouble making smirk. "You want me to do it with my hands behind my back too?"

The twins glanced at each other, grinned, and pounced without another word spoken in what was honestly their best attempt to take him down. Logan sidestepped them and tripped Stefan before he took a few steps back and very clearly held up his hands to put them behind his back. It just served to make the twins fight that much harder, but of course, it still wasn't a fair fight at all.

"He could do it blindfolded, too," Skye whispered to Jubilee with a proud smile as they watched the fight.

And halfway through it, while Logan was dodging their strikes, he decided to have a little mercy on them and started to critique what they were doing wrong as they tried to hit him. "You're both telegraphing every move," he pointed out. "And you need to keep your elbows in."

"Don't look at where you want to hit," he told Stefan before he swept Amanda's feet out from under her, and she tried for a frustrated grab at knee level in obvious annoyance.

"Come on, guys. I thought you said you were good," Logan teased.

"We _are_!" came the immediate, frustrated response in stereo.

"Then take me down, before I die of old age," he replied.

"You are just — so—" Amanda let out a noise of pure annoyance.

"Sorry, didn't catch that last part," Logan said, actually chuckling at her.

"She said you're a goon," Stefan finished for his sister. "Come on — fight us!"

"You haven't landed a hit yet," Logan pointed out. "Makin' a nice breeze though."

Amanda and Stefan both glanced at each other and nodded before both of them simply stopped, crossed their arms, and shook their heads. "Not if you're gonna play like that."

"I'm just dodging," he pointed out.

"Show us how to fight," Stefan said. "Not grab air."

"That's what I was doing before you tried to _attack_ me," Logan said.

"Yeah, and then you switched to showing off," Amanda grumbled.

"Oh, I wasn't showing off," Logan said. "Not even close."

"Yeah, yeah," Amanda said, waving her hand. "You were showing off. Call it what you like."

"You ready to learn something — or do you just want to spar?" Logan asked.

"Not if it's gonna be like that," Amanda grumbled.

"Yeah, that's just not even fun," Stefan agreed.

"Alright then. Fitz, head over to Noh, Simmons to Stefan. Jubes and Skye," he said before he smirked at Amanda and waved her forward. "Keep to what you do well," he told her.

"Yeah, what's that?"

"I meant something other than smack talk, but …"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't be _mean_."

"That's half of my job description, kiddo," he pointed out before he held up his palms to her. "Come on. Kicks. We'll get you set to kick a field goal with Ronan's head."

"Thanos," she corrected him with a smirk. "You already decorated Ronan."

"Then you'll need to learn how to run up him halfway first," Logan told her. "That guy..." He shook his head. "Bigger in person."

"Then I need a different partner for practicing," Amanda pointed out.

"Good luck getting one that can teach you," he shot back. "All the biggest ass kickers around here are short."

"Me and Stefan excluded of course," she said.

"Well, you're not even up to Jubes' level yet," he told her, gesturing over to where Jubilee and Skye were sparring — viciously enough to get both Logan and Amanda to stop and watch the show.

In a dirty move right out of Logan's playbook, Jubilee had Skye on the ground an instant later, and Skye held up both hands. "Woah. Uncle."

"I thought you could keep up," Jubilee said, panting, fists raised.

"And if you were Hydra, I'd pull some other moves, but I'm not gonna do those here," Skye said. "That's all I got left." She shook her head from the ground. "Who taught you — Logan?"

"Duh," Jubilee said as she crossed her arms over her chest and took a few steps back.

Skye climbed to her feet and smirked. "He's a good teacher," she said. "Saved my life, actually."

"That move?" she asked as she stepped forward and simply couldn't stop herself from straightening up Skye's shirt.

Skye shook her head. "No, a different one. But same basic principles." She grinned. "Throat punch — then hit 'em low."

"Ooh, yeah," Jubilee said nodding. "That worked for me once too. I don't think it was life-threatening, but … creeper. Dropped him."

"Creeper for me too, only mine had a gun and worked for Hydra," Skye said, pulling a face.

"Eew," Jubilee agreed. "Did he teach you how to take their gun and pistol whip them with it yet?"

"Yeah, last time I was in Seven," she said with a nod.

"He hasn't taken me out to shoot yet though," Jubilee said. "Hard to do … stylist and all that noise."

"Well, now there's not so many rules," Skye said with a smile. "There are some good ranges out here, and my SO is pretty good for lessons if you don't mind a total lack of conversation."

"Um. Hello?" Jubilee said before she gestured to Logan. "Most of his lessons are just …. Direction. Has he taken you to the range?"

"We went a couple times, but mostly my SO takes me. She's very particular about weapons handling," Skye admitted.

"Weapons or aim?" Jubilee asked quietly.

"Yes?" Skye laughed. "She's, like, the mom of my team. Fitzsimmons and I have decided. She doesn't think it's funny, though."

"Well, he said he wasn't going to teach me any gun stuff here until I'm ready to kill something," Jubilee admitted. "Something about you don't point it at anything you don't want dead."

"Yeah, that's rule one," Skye agreed. She let out a sigh. "Not going to lie ... shooting someone? Sucks. I'd recommend not doing it if you can."

"So you've shot someone too? Yikes." She pulled a face at that. "Sounds freaky."

"Same creep. Came back like a bad dream and tried to haul me off? So I shot him."

"Did you kill him?"

"I meant to," she admitted. "But no. Four bullets in the chest and he's _still_ out there being a creep. Ugh."

"Well, we'll catch up to him sooner or later and fix that little problem. Maybe he'll get his face decorated too," she said cheerfully.

"Yeah," Skye said with a small sigh. "We're trying — me and my team. When we get him, I'll let you know. We'll throw a party."

"Sounds good," Jubilee said with a little sigh before she pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Ready to go again before we get in _trouble_?" She tipped her head to indicate over her shoulder where, sure enough, Logan and Amanda were side by side watching the two of them.

Skye smirked. "We'll save the trouble for later," she said as she settled into a fighting stance, and the two of them went back into it — though not nearly as viciously.

* * *

 _March 2_

 _SHIELD Base_

* * *

Jubilee had enjoyed the training session with Logan and his little flock, for sure, but he'd already taught her half that stuff. So… she went looking, and she'd found herself a new instructor after poking a few SHIELD agents and annoying them enough to get pointed at a young woman with short cropped blonde hair and bubblegum.

"Oh my God, twinsies," she said half under her breath. The blonde stopped what she was doing when she spotted her new student, and the gum fell right out of her mouth.

"You're a stylist! And like … my _favorite_ stylist. Oh …. My …. Okay. Okay. Hi," she said with a half curtsy. "I'm Tabitha, but around here, they call me 'Boom Boom.'" She extended her hand and grinned widely when Jubilee took it. "I _totally_ love your designs — our styles mesh so well."

Jubilee was thrilled. So far, Tabitha was the first one on base to know or care about who she was. But she had a question that couldn't be left unanswered. "If you're the explosives expert? Um … why aren't you doing this in the field?"

"I don't do too well under pressure?" Tabitha replied. "I'm excellent at building bombs though — time bombs specifically — and it turns out I'm a fabulous teacher ... even when the boys don't want to learn from the bubbly blonde." She cracked her gum and grinned again then waved Jubilee over to her work table.

"So, first things first … let's show you … a two-part reaction. This is a little treat for your snipers when you leave. It's totally like … non-reactive? Until you hit it with a high-powered rifle round. And then …."

"Boom?" Jubilee asked, and Tabitha nodded slowly. "Oh, I can't wait to show Wolvie how wrong he is on this …"


	30. Southbound Mission

**Chapter 30: "Southbound Mission"**

* * *

 _March 5_

 _Skye's Room_

* * *

It had been a very late night, and Logan hadn't gotten in until well after midnight. By some lucky twist of fate, Skye had been up doing …. whatever she was doing ... but had still managed to fall asleep before he came in, which he thought meant he could just curl up. And since he had come back injured for the first time in a while, he wanted nothing more than to get comfortable and go to sleep.

So when he quietly slipped into bed with her and fell asleep curled around her, positively dead to the world, he wasn't expecting to be woken up at three in the morning with a punch to the mouth. It was a solid hit too, and she was already hitting anything she could reach before he managed to grab her wrists to get her to stop. But that move — holding her wrists — was when she really began to panic, all the way up until he managed to push past her strikes to get his arms around her tightly. As soon as he had a halfway decent hold on her, he started to mutter in her ear that she was safe, urging her to calm down and wake up.

When she finally did come to her senses, she was still panicked for a few moments before she realized who he was and where she was — and who she'd just hit. "Oh crap!"

"Take it easy," he said, loosening his grip as soon as he saw she was awake and aware. "You okay?"

She took a moment to look around and then buried her face into his neck. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry about your face."

"Everybody's sorry 'bout that. You sure you're alright?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

She picked her head up and frowned at the blood she saw there. "Better than you," she told him as she reached up to try and clean him up a little.

"I'm fine," he promised, though he didn't fight her on the clean up. "That _was_ a good hit."

She couldn't help but smirk. "Well, I had a good teacher," she pointed out.

He gently pulled her closer again to try to hold her and get her to stop fussing over him. "What was that about? You've never gone all surprise ninja attack like that before."

"You know that Hydra creep my team's been after?" she muttered into him.

"Yeah?" he said. "Was that for him?"

"In my defense, he deserved it _way_ more than you did," she said.

"Never know," he said with a shrug. "I might have."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no way. You'd have to be a special kind of jerk, and as far as I can see? You were just sleeping. Peacefully. Before I tried to rearrange your teeth; I'm so sorry."

"It'll heal," Logan said with a little smile. "I've had a lot worse. Not even the worst wake up punch."

She had to roll her eyes at that one and then glanced at the clock. "When did you even get in? I didn't go to sleep until, like, past midnight, so it _can't_ have been too long ago."

He checked the time and started to settle in where he was, tipping his head to rest his cheek on the top of her head. "Bout an hour ago."

She followed his lead, snuggling back into him. "Then I'm extra sorry," she said. "But not _too_ sorry to take advantage of being awake for the snuggles."

"I'll make sure to poke you with a stick next time before I climb into bed," he promised with a little laugh. "Or just go to my own bed."

"Probably safer to poke me. I'll snap the stick and not you," she teased.

"Yeah, you're not gonna snap me anyhow. I'm a _little_ more durable than that."

"Give me another few training sessions," she laughed.

"Maybe later," he replied with a little yawn. "Been a long night."

She nodded at that and curled back into him for a much more restful sleep this time around — right up until May came to get the two of them. "Hill wanted to see you," May told Logan. "And Skye — we've got a briefing in five minutes. Intel just came in, so get a move on."

Both of them took a moment to try to wake up — and with a big breath, Logan rolled out of bed to pull on what he needed to make it to Hill's without drawing more attention than necessary his way. "You guys gonna do some damage today?" he asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Always," Skye said as she looked for a pair of socks. "See you when you get back. I promise not to hit you next time."

"You can hit me if you sleep better afterward," he teased before he stole a quick kiss and headed to the door, where he gave May a look, and just to rile her, a quick peck on the cheek before he headed off to Hill's office.

May shook her head at him and then turned Skye's way with a smirk. "Stop that," Skye said, without looking her way.

"We'll try to rush this one. You looked cozy," May said with a straight face. "But Hill would probably appreciate it if you didn't beat up her operative." She gestured to the little spot of blood on the sheet. "But it also looks like you popped his stitches."

"Wait… what?" Skye looked positively mortified.

"I'm sure he'll get it fixed before he goes out. Or Hill will make him. One of the two," May said as the two of them arrived at Coulson's office, where the rest of the team was already waiting — though Skye did notice that both Fitz and Simmons looked a little frazzled as well, as they usually did when they were actually going out into the field.

"What's up, AC?" Skye asked, noticing for the first time the serious expression on his face.

"We're heading out. We've got a hot lead on a nasty Hydra faction, and I want them gone," he said. "Weapons are waiting for us at the transport. No icers this time."

"Sounds serious," she said, glancing at Fitzsimmons.

"It is," Coulson admitted. "Fury and Hill are sending out a few different teams to catch their counterparts in three different districts, but this one looks like the one you've been trying to track down. We're going to hit all of them at once."

Skye brightened at that. "Quill will be glad to hear that. He's been wondering when we'll find those guys. I think he took his rescue party being shot at personally."

"We'll take care of it today," Coulson replied. "We have about an hour before you have to be ready to go."

"Got it. Enough time to grab a bite and get ready," she said, already headed for the door.

Before she left, Skye made sure to set her laptop to record any incoming Capitol transmissions and public announcements — she was still watching for anything they might say that was _screaming_ for some kind of ironic counterpoint, like Ronan's face or Gamora's wedding — and grabbed some breakfast, so by the time she met back up with May in the hangar to fly copilot with her, she was in a pretty good mood, even without having had much sleep.

This particular Hydra group was further out than Skye had expected. It seemed like most of them were concentrated close to the Capitol or close to SHIELD — where the main fight was, anyway. The districts were still technically under Capitol control — though to varying degrees, depending on how effective the Sentinels were. Seven, for example, was decidedly _not_ listening to the Capitol. At all. Skye was pretty proud of that. But these guys were in District Six, which was _surprisingly_ well-equipped to fight the Capitol. It was another district that the Capitol couldn't keep hold of, so it was a hot spot — and harder to get intel on. That was probably how these guys had flown under the radar for so long, honestly.

The first sign that this was going to be a little harder than they thought was when May told them that she'd have to set the jet down a little further out than she'd planned, frowning at her instruments. "Much closer, and they'll shoot us out of the sky," she told Coulson when he came up to see why there was a change in plans.

"Six has never had that kind of firepower," Coulson said with a frown.

"Well, they do now," May said.

When May finally found a place to hide them out, Coulson was glancing at his watch. They'd meant to run a coordinated attack, but already, the other teams had gone radio silent, and it was clear the fact that they were behind was bothering him.

"Fitz, I need you and Simmons here. The second the other teams check in, we need to know if they're encountering the kind of problems we are," he said. "Simmons, you too. I know Fitz is qualified to fly this, but I'd feel better if both of you were here if we have to get out fast."

"Of course," Simmons replied with a nod. "I'll have everything waiting in case of emergency."

With that, May led the way out of the plane. Coulson was right behind her, checking his intel as they went through the district, and Skye stuck close to both of them. "Looks like a repurposed factory," he muttered as he tipped his head toward where the intel indicated they would find the group.

Where the run-down factory had probably once generated medical supplies, half of it now looked new. There was still some production going on, but it had been added to, and judging by the people in black and green out and about... whatever it was, Skye and her team wanted in.

Skye made a face the closer they got — she could smell the medicinal sort of haze of the whole building. "This place is giving me the creeps," she muttered to May.

May could only nod her agreement, though she didn't respond except to tip her head to indicate that the other two should follow her. She'd spotted the opening they needed to get inside.

They slipped in past a gap in the guard rotation, though this close to the factory, there was a low hum of machinery that made their ears ring the slightest bit until Coulson was able to get them inside the other half of the facility — which seemed to have better sound insulation once they closed the door.

Green seemed to be the running theme of the place — even white-coated scientists wore it underneath their coats — and the place had the feeling of a laboratory more than a factory, with doctors and scientists rushing from room to room full of equipment.

"Stay together," Coulson said quietly. "This is a lot bigger than we thought. We need to figure out who's behind all this — and get out if we can."

"Comforting," Skye quipped, which earned her a dry Coulson look. "There was a computer bank down the hall we just passed," she said. "I can get in their systems and get you a name if you can give me enough time."

Coulson nodded. "We'll come with you," he said. "I don't want to get separated."

The three of them retraced their steps to one of the side hallways, though once Skye was inside, both May and Coulson peeked into a few of the other rooms around them — and Coulson froze when he saw the familiar-looking equipment in one.

He broke the lock in a second and pushed his way inside, stunned to find part of the Tahiti equipment in front of him. He might not have understood what half of the equipment did, but he had seen the process done so many times that he knew exactly what he was looking at.

May came to a stop beside him and stared for a moment before she nodded. "I'll look next door and see if there's anything else like this," she told him, already in motion as Coulson shook his head, trying to recover from his shock.

"Right," he said. "Trash anything you find. If Hydra has this technology ... they won't _stay_ dead, and that's going to be a problem. I doubt they'd let a thing like possible insanity and instability keep them from bringing back their soldiers multiple times."

"I'll make sure Skye knows to wipe their files when she's done," May said.

"She usually does."

"I'll remind her — this is important," May replied, her eyes narrowed at the equipment before she slipped out the door.

Of course, Skye didn't actually need the reminder, and she told May as much as she waved off the older SHIELD agent and kept going — though knowing it was Tahiti being researched made a lot of what she was seeing fall better into place.

She set to downloading all the files she could, and then she got down to work on a virus that would scrub all of the progress they'd made so far. She didn't see any successful resurrections on file, just a lot of equipment being tested and requests for materials… that was something, at least….

"Wow. All this time I've been looking for you and you just … fall into my lap."

Skye looked up and froze for a moment when she saw Ward in the doorway, and then she went right for her gun — intending to get him right in the face this time just so she could be extra thorough about it.

But he was obviously expecting it and rushed her, knocking loose her gun before she could even take it out of the holster. She fought to get away from him, but he wasn't playing nice and twisted her arm behind her back hard. "I owe you for the last time we saw each other," he said in her ear.

She narrowed her eyes and couldn't help letting out a noise of both pain and disgust as she turned, using the move Logan had been showing his class last week to get out of arm holds — Simmons hadn't been able to get it right when Fitz was her partner — and not only managed to break the hold Ward had her in but hit him solidly in the gut as well to get some distance. "You're right — I should have aimed higher," she panted, her teeth gritted.

"Are you really going to take that route, Skye? Trying to be the tough girl?" He shook his head and gestured with his free hand. "Let it go and just stay here. You can help us get rid of SHIELD. I know that's what you really want to do anyhow."

"And what — be a Hydra pawn? No can do," she said, backing toward the door. Her flash drive was still in the computer, but Ward was between her and it — and her gun — anyway, and she didn't want to deal with him any longer than she had to. " _I'm_ going to be the director of SHIELD."

"Don't be ridiculous," he chuckled. "They had you labelled as a _terrorist_. They'll just use you and drop you when they're done — like everyone else they have on payroll."

"Like you're not planning to do the same," she sneered at him.

"You think I care about Hydra? I'm in it for myself," he corrected.

She narrowed her eyes as she found the handle of the door with her hand behind her. "I'm not buying what you're selling, Ward."

"Well that's just too bad. You don't really have a choice."

She didn't give him the courtesy of an answer for that one, instead seizing the door handle to wrench the door open and fling herself out of it. The computer banks were further removed from anything else in the area, so she knew she had to book it if she was going to find her backup — and she was nearly to the end of the hallway when Ward caught up with her, simply trying to take her to the ground.

Which she wasn't about to let happen.

She moved with his attempt to pin her and threw her head back into his face to get him to let her go, and when he did, she jammed her elbow into his ribs and the back of her heel into his shin. By the time she'd scrambled back from him, he was clearly surprised, and bleeding from his nose.

While he was still shocked, she rushed him. She knew she couldn't outrun him, but if she could get his gun, she wouldn't have to. She feinted, and he moved to block her from hitting his side, but instead, he got a boot in the stomach, which doubled him as she reached for his gun.

But he got there first.

It took only a second for the tide of the fight to turn drastically when he shot her, point blank, twice in the stomach. He looked almost as shocked as she did, and he stepped back from her almost angrily, all but hissing out, "This wouldn't have happened if you'd just come with me."

Skye slumped to the floor, watching as he stalked off as she could feel her shirt and the ground around her growing slick with her blood.

* * *

When the two shots rang out, Coulson and May were further out, both of them methodically dismantling the Tahiti equipment until they heard the shots fired that meant it was time to go — and time to stop worrying about being quiet about it.

May left a grenade in one of the labs, and Coulson set fire to the other, so when they met up in the hallway, they'd already done plenty of damage, and they simply nodded to each other as they fell into step, headed back to where Skye had been, though at practically a jog, since neither of them had seen any Hydra soldiers, so it had to be Skye who'd been shot at, or had done the shooting.

They hadn't even turned the corner fully when both of them saw Skye at the same time — her hands and abdomen covered in blood, already unconscious and clearly hurting. Just down the hall, May saw, just for an instant, Ward's retreating figure — though that only pushed the concern higher as she turned back to her injured agent.

May was the one to recover faster and rush to grab Skye and do what she could to staunch the bleeding, though Coulson was the first to speak as he uttered a string of oaths under his breath that had May raising an eyebrow his way while the normally stoic agent lost his cool.

May showed him where he needed to keep pressure, and he didn't say a word after that as he simply scooped Skye up and took off at a solid _run_ , trusting May to shoot anyone that got in between them and their plane. Which she did. Gladly.

May radioed ahead as soon as they were out of the worst of the gunfire for Fitz and Simmons to be ready to lift off when they got there, and also for Simmons to have her supplies ready to go, quickly but thoroughly describing the injury that Skye had sustained.

"Right — yes — alright," was the halfway disjointed response from Simmons, though both of the scientists had their professional game faces on by the time Coulson and May arrived with Skye — with Simmons immediately taking over on Skye and Fitz ready to put them in the air as soon as the ramp closed behind them.

Simmons worked fast, but both May and Coulson could tell she was upset as she got quieter and quieter, without any of the usual muttering under her breath, though her mouth was moving to utter words without wound to herself as she worked. "There's only so much I can do," she said at last in a tone full of apology. "She has to get back to base; she needs surgery, and I can't do that here."

"Whatever you can do — do it," Coulson said without taking his gaze off of Skye as May quietly slipped past him, her gaze hard, to take over flying from Fitz and get them back faster. Coulson was angrier than anyone on their team had ever seen him, and he wasn't trying to hide it at all.

When they got back to base, Fitz had already radioed ahead for medical, and Skye was rushed off the plane, with Simmons keeping pace with the medics, Skye's blood on her shirt and hands as she explained what she had done already and detailed what she strongly suspected still needed to be done. Coulson wasn't far behind, though he was silent, almost dazed looking and still working up a serious rage.

May glanced at Fitz, who was still wide-eyed, and got to her feet. "Come on," she told him gently. "There's a waiting area — and you know Coulson needs the company."

The curly-headed scientist was simply at a loss for words as he nodded and let her lead him down to the medical ward, and by the time they arrived, Coulson was already pacing outside. Simmons was inside with the doctors, of course, so Coulson had been waiting on his own for a few minutes by then — that much was obvious by the pacing and the set to his jaw.

May directed Fitz to a seat and then crossed to where Coulson was to put one hand on his shoulder, and he glanced up to meet her gaze for an instant. She didn't say anything, but after a moment, he let out all his breath and seemed almost to deflate before he nodded once and let her lead him to a seat. She sat down on the other side of him and kept a critical eye on both men.

* * *

The little team that had gone to Three was less a team and more a surgical strike force. A lead on Tivan had sounded a lot hotter than it was, and Rhodey and Logan had rushed off to try and deal with that little weasel. Just the two of them. Unfortunately, not only was the tip bad, but it was a trap to boot.

When the two of them got off the plane at the base after the mission run, Rhodey was still laughing at the performance he'd gotten to watch as Logan fought off his first encounter with a pack of ninjas — and to his credit, Ogun's training had been almost scientifically designed for exactly that kind of a problem. Logan hadn't even noticed the cut he'd gotten on his arm until Rhodey had pointed it out on the way back.

"Too busy having fun to notice a little thing like bleeding," Rhodey said, shaking his head as he handed Logan the med kit from the plane with one hand. "Lucky you didn't pop your stitches again."

"Not sure I didn't," Logan admitted. "I'm not gonna look at it. I don't need to listen to that lecture again."

"You'll have to listen to it in stereo if you pass out and medical has to come get you," Rhodey pointed out.

"I'll take my chances," Logan replied. "Besides, I got to kill ninjas. Good trip."

Rhodey simply laughed at that — though he poured on the speed anyway just so he was sure Logan didn't pass out on him and make him carry him into the base.

They were halfway across the hangar, both still smiling, when May caught up with the two of them, looking far more upset than Logan had _ever_ seen and with dried blood across her sleeves and the front of her shirt.

"What happened?" Logan asked, his smile gone in an instant as he looked for the source of the blood.

"This isn't mine," she told him, but she was also already gesturing for him to follow her. "The team went after Hydra, and we found more than we were expecting. Skye's been shot. It's bad, Logan."

He let out a breath and nodded as he fell into step with her.

May was almost jogging as they headed to the medical wing and she tried to give him the overview — the Hydra base that was bigger than they'd realized, the same creep that had been screwing with Skye showing up, Simmons' attempts to help. They burst into the medical wing in time to very nearly knock into the doctor leaving the waiting room — and just in time to see Coulson put his head in both hands as his shoulders started to shake.

Logan froze on watching the scene unfold. His focus was clearly on Coulson as May went right to her partner to try and take care of him. Fitz and Simmons were positively clutching to each other. He wasn't sure what exactly to do, but after a few moments of watching Skye's family fall apart, he felt as if he was intruding on them — and he simply couldn't stand to be there.

So, feeling entirely out of place, Logan silently backed right out of the room and left the entire area to give them their privacy. There wasn't a thing he could do for any of them, and he didn't really know how to process it, short of making sure that he was entirely alone.

He found himself at his room after God only knows how long, and on arriving, he looked around for a few moments, then mechanically started to pick it up. Every single item that had been brought and left by the little hacker found its way either into a box or a garbage can, and by the time the sun was up the next morning, it was all gathered up neatly and sitting outside his door — and he was nowhere to be found, with no sign that he'd spent the night there.


	31. Repurcussions

**Chapter 31: "Repercussions"**

Logan had, of course, headed right to the hangar after taking care of clearing out his room. There was no way that he was going to ask Rhodey to fly him out, though. For one thing, it was too close to the mission they'd just done in Three, and he knew that Rhodey was overdue for a rest, but also it wasn't even _close_ to a sanctioned mission, and Rhodey, for as much fun as he could be, was a company man.

Instead, Logan looked at who was there and asked Harry Tabeshaw to get a jet ready. Harry was just the right person for this kind of thing anyhow. He never really asked questions if you needed to get the hell out or do something off the books. As long as you were sure to promise that you'd threatened him to fly should the mission go south or you get caught, that is.

Mighta helped that he was originally from Seven too.

So Harry didn't ask why Logan was so quiet, or why he didn't have any of the usual gear, outside of a side arm and a few extra clips full of ammo. Instead, Harry tried very hard to mind his own business. However, there were a few points to be clarified either way. "You know where you want me to stash the jet?" he asked in as nonchalant a manner as possible.

"Nope," Logan replied — and he had so far refused to clarify as to why. "Just put it down near the coordinates that they used earlier. If you come under fire, leave. I can find my way back if I have to."

Harry frowned at that but decided that wasn't the way it was going to go. "Hey, just … I'll be right here. I can return fire if someone is stupid."

Logan shrugged at that but didn't really respond either way, more focused on what he was headed to do than anything else.

As soon as they set down, Logan took off. He'd read the preliminary report, and he'd read the intel that had led them to the factory in Six, so he started there — at the factory. Security had been tightened up after May and Coulson had blown up and burned a rather impressive-sized section of the factory, and it took him some time to figure out where the servers were that May had put in her report. But when he did, he started trying to figure out where this creep would have gone after shooting Skye.

There were only a few ways out from where the bloodstains were … so he tried to guess where some spineless little twerp would go and went that way. He listened to the buzz of the Hydra people talking about the fire — until he'd caught by chance one of them mentioning that some of the higher-ups had taken off to the other side of the district to lay low until the heat had blown over. Hydra knew it was SHIELD — they just didn't know who in SHIELD had been there with total certainty, and it had them nervous over retaliation.

Logan waited until he'd seen someone with what had to be a higher position — considering how decorated his uniform was — and followed him. His intention was to hunt down the creep that had shot Skye — but if he ended up finding out who was in charge of Hydra here, he'd kill them too. Do Fury a little favor. Call it a birthday present.

As soon as he was far enough from the factory that the smokestacks were all that were visible, he called in to Fury. "I'm goin' dark for a while. Have fun with your coordinates. I'm goin' huntin'."

He didn't wait for a response as he nosed down the path that the Hydra uniform had gone down, and three miles out of town, the sound of bombers was plain to hear before the ground shook with the exploding bombs. He stepped off into the forest to watch the Hydra geek's reaction as the guy ran faster, paranoid that one of those bombs might find their way to him.

It took hours of tracking, but on the far side of district Six, built into a cliffside, Logan finally found his way to a hidden barracks. Logan made note of its coordinates before he started scouting around on the best way to sneak in before he finally spotted it: through an air intake near the top of the cliff. He slipped into the first empty hall he could find and started to slowly work his way through the barracks, one bunk room at a time, looking for someone stupid enough to be talking about the factory — or what had gone down inside.

When he found a few Hydra creeps down the hall with a few bottles of Scotch and enough distance between them and the outside to make them brave despite the SHIELD attack a few miles off, he had to take pause.

"Almost wasn't surprised to see her that far in," said one of the guys with a lazy, smug look. "Taught her everything she knows."

Logan paused and took a few steps back to listen a little harder near the door. That … couldn't possibly be that easy. No one was so full of themselves to brag on someone they'd shot. Especially when they were so _wrong_ about her skill level.

For the time being, Logan was wearing his full uniform ... but if this was the guy … oh. He was damn sure going to see who was coming for him.

"Thought you said your old team was—"

"Yeah, yeah — most of them. She coulda been fun, though. For a while, anyway," the guy chuckled.

Logan stopped cold and closed his eyes to try and force himself to do a mental count of how many morons in there he'd have to make sure were dead before he left again. He pulled his sidearm and checked that it was loaded before he tightened his grip and put it back in the holster. _Wait,_ he told himself. _Just wait to be sure this is the right creep, or it'll end up being the whole base._ He tried to keep it calm as long as he could.

There was a derisive sort of laugh as one of the Hydra goons poured another round — the clank of the bottle on glass easy to hear. "Didn't try too hard to bring her in though. What, were you trying to let them escape?"

When the guy responded, it was with clear heat to his tone. "No, the bitch tried to shoot me, so I had to put her down."

That was it, and Logan decided to go for a totally untrained approach as he pulled his mask off with a growl and pushed on the door as if he was any other of their buddies. "Ward hidin' out in here?" he asked casually as he screwed the silencer onto the end of his sidearm. "I heard there was a good story."

Grant Ward looked up with a laugh on his lips — and as soon as Logan knew for sure which one he was, he emptied out the gun with double taps into everyone else's heads in the room without so much as looking their way. He had no intention of shooting Ward. Not yet anyhow. But there was something poetic about eye for an eye — more or less.

Ward went for his gun, and Logan shook his head and tutted as he started his attack. He opened with a palm strike to the chin — just to break his teeth — before he spun into him and disarmed the creep. From there, he stripped him of his comm then took Ward's own gun and put two in his stomach at almost exactly the same placement Skye was shot — though he was sure that his shots weren't going to be fatal on their own. He slammed Ward into the ground face down by his neck and crouched over him low so he could snarl over his shoulder. "Looks like you broke your nose. How you gonna make yourself sound like anything but lucky with three slashes across that ugly mug o' yours?"

"What the h- how'd you even get in here?" Ward responded through his teeth as he tried to reach up to grab onto Logan, but Logan wasn't about to allow him to do anything. He took a hold of Ward's wrist and with a quick backward tweak, he simply snapped it.

"Not really your concern right now," Logan replied quietly before he flipped him over and put his fist under Ward's chin and slowly released the two outer claws on that fist, the third only barely coming out enough to break the skin. "Now. There are a few rules you need to know before we get started. If you scream, or call for help, I won't stop. But I'll _really_ make it hurt. So do yourself a favor and only open your mouth when I say so. Now'd be a good time to acknowledge that." He waited for Ward to choke out his affirmative before he continued. "You an' I are gonna spend a little time together. If you do exactly as I say and don't piss me off more, I might just feel charitable and let you live. Keep squirmin' and I wouldn't count on it."

* * *

 _Fury's Office_

* * *

It had taken Coulson a lot longer to pull himself together than he meant to, and even when he did, it took him another few minutes to gather up his argument. He couldn't storm Fury's office wordlessly and unprepared — though he had very nearly done just that.

Though… standing outside Fury's door with his demand to bring Skye back "because she's Skye" wasn't exactly his best plan either. He was starting to form more of a plan though, the longer he was up and on his feet and had something to _do_ about it. May was already part of a group bombing the Hydra location in Six, and if Ward was smart, he'd be miles away already. But this? This was something Coulson could do.

When Coulson heard the click that meant the door had opened, he pushed his way through into Fury's office and didn't even try to look more composed as he said, "We're _going_ to bring her back, Nick."

"Of course we are," Fury replied without even pausing in his sifting through intel. "You think I like the way that came down?"

Coulson had to stop in sheer surprise. He'd been prepared for a full argument — the resources were hard to come by, there were other things to focus on — not a 'yes' right off the bat. He blinked at Fury and found himself a seat, a lot of the wind out of his sails when he had clearly not been prepared for this. "I'll ... get her in Tahiti right away, then," he said faintly.

"Take whoever you need to get it going," Fury advised. "Everything should be there, and Henry McCoy was already put on notice once word came down on how that surgery ended."

Coulson nodded wordlessly for a moment, suddenly both relieved and tired all over again. "May is going to be back in a little while," he said, trying to straighten himself up a bit now that he had what he wanted. "We found Tahiti equipment in Six, and she brought in plenty of intel before we trashed it."

"She's already spoken to me, Phil," Fury said, his tone clearly letting Coulson know that he knew Coulson wasn't entirely himself yet.

Again, Coulson's only available reaction was to nod wordlessly. "Right then. Well." He stood up and readjusted his tie. "I'll get the Tahiti crew going then."

Fury nodded at that. "Take a break before you fall over," he said, which at least had Coulson smirking slightly.

* * *

It was well after dark when Fury met Logan in the hangar again, and Harry Tabeshaw was shaking his head slowly in the background as the young man approached the Director.

Logan handed Fury a small slip of paper with some coordinates scribbled on it. "You'll find a bunker there. If you hit fast, you might even kill a few higher ups. Got the name of the guy running that division too."

"No one was tipped off to your little vendetta?" Fury asked, just for clarification, though he couldn't help but take a peek at the slip of bloodstained paper with a shaky scrawl that had to have been Ward's — naming a short list of SHIELD agents that were doing work with Hydra.

"On our side? No. On their side? If they even halfway crossed my path, they're dead now."

"Good." Fury looked him over with a critical eye. "Get some rest. SHIELD will take it from here."

"Right. When do you want me back?" Logan asked as he came to a stop near the door.

"I'll let you know," Fury told him, clearly distracted by the paper in his hand. "Depends on the intel that comes in from this."

"Good luck finding me, then," Logan grumbled as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

"Hill still wants you morning after next for another run," Fury told him, though he was wearing a frown.

"Why wait that long?" Logan asked. "Why not sooner?"

"Other concerns," Fury said dismissively. "Big push in Five right now. Make yourself available tomorrow afternoon if you're in a rush. If this goes the way we want it to, the team will need to go in before the Capitol can retreat fully."

"I'll be here," Logan replied with a curt nod before he turned down one of the halls that went nowhere near where he'd been bunked up. Fury frowned watching him go but turned his attention to his comm for. Maybe it would be good to see how things were working on the other side of the veil. But first... one of the names that Logan had handed him belonged to someone that was stationed in intelligence. Far too sensitive an area for a Hydra agent to be camped out. Jasper Sitwell was going to be dealt with before anything else.

Fury reached for the comm at his side, and as soon as he was sure enough time had passed for Logan to be long gone, he had Hill join him. "We have a situation," he told her.

"We never have those," she said straight-faced. "What is it this time?"

Fury gave her a dry look before he handed her the bloodstained scrap of paper. "We have a Hydra leak."

Hill glanced down at the paper for a moment, one eyebrow rising despite her best efforts. "I'm on it," she said simply as she got to her feet. "Just clear a room for me when I get back."

"It'll be waiting," Fury promised. He watched her sweep out in a rush and waited a moment before he reached for the comm again.

Fury hit the button and asked Coulson to meet him for a status report. "Bring May if she's free." He sat down at his desk and pulled out the half-full bottle of scotch from the bottom drawer, shaking his head and swearing to himself when he saw how low the level was in what had been a new bottle two days ago. Especially since he knew _he_ hadn't been hitting it.

It didn't take long for Coulson to arrive, with May just behind him and clearly keeping an eye on him, not looking at Fury except to nod once in greeting.

"I thought you two deserved a status report," Fury began. "And I'm sure you'd like to know on an entirely _professional_ level that Former SHIELD Agent Grant Ward is dead."

"Are you sure?" Coulson asked as May straightened up the slightest bit.

"Very."

"That was fast," May said quietly, an almost suspicious look on her face.

"Your preliminary reports and the intel you had going in to Six was critical in finding and putting him down quickly," Fury told her.

"I would have preferred to have been there," May admitted. "This was personal, to be honest."

"And you know I'm not in the business of letting my agents go on vendettas."

"Not officially," she said, holding his gaze with her arms crossed for a good long moment with a glare that said she knew how _personal_ it was, considering _who_ she knew or strongly suspected had gone in.

Coulson finally cleared his throat and nodded Fury's way. "Thank you for letting us know," he said in a tired tone.

"I'd like to know how things are going on the other side of the division," Fury replied.

"Doctor McCoy has already gotten started with the preliminaries," Coulson said. "He says it should be straightforward — only a week or two."

"Does he have any requests that need to be fulfilled? Vibranium, for instance?"

Coulson very nearly smirked at that one. "I was going to request LeBeau and Barton go to Eleven, just in case. McCoy thinks we should have enough, but it's tight. If there's any complications…"

"If you need it, say so now," Fury said. "You've got full clearance on this one to do whatever it takes."

"Thank you, sir," Coulson said as he got to his feet and headed out — making sure Skye was brought back clearly the first thing on his mind.

They were barely out of the door before May had to try for some levity. "You always were one of his favorites."

Coulson gave her a dry look. "Shocked me just as much as it did you when he was so _easy_ to convince."

"Because you're one of his babies," May said, gaze forward.

"May." The dry look somehow intensified.

"Try to tell me I'm wrong."

"I'm a grown man, May," he said, though he was starting to smirk.

"Since when does that make a difference?"

He shook his head. "Do you give Hill this kind of grief too?"

"He doesn't like her as much as he likes _you_ ," May pointed out.

Coulson barely kept from rolling his eyes, though he did gesture toward Tahiti and let her know: "I'm headed back to the other side. Keep an eye on Fitzsimmons, would you?"

"Always," May said, this time with a more serious nod. "And you, too."

* * *

Not long after Coulson and May left Fury's office, Fury had one last appointment, this time Bobbi Morse, who looked almost wary.

"Everyone level seven and above seems to be on high alert," she observed.

"Just a little bit," Fury replied. "Hill is about to have a little discussion with Agent Sitwell. Name sound familiar to you?"

"I know he's gone out with Coulson and Hill personally before. Viper's mentioned wanting his position…" She paused. "Why?"

"He's been made as a Hydra agent. I wanted to know how much you knew. Make sure you're not getting in too deep."

Bobbi swore quietly under her breath as she shook her head. "I didn't know. If I had, you'd have known it — you know that, Fury," she said.

"It's being handled," Fury replied. "But if it might help your _other_ position …"

"Right." Bobbi nodded and got to her feet. "How much time does Hill need before I tell Hydra?"

"She's got Sitwell in interrogation right now," Fury informed her. "He's not going anywhere."

"I'll let you know how mad Viper is about it — should give us a clue as to how valuable he was if Hill doesn't get anywhere," Bobbi said. She paused and added, "They're working up counter-interrogation methods. Watch for cyanide pills and false teeth ... some of them don't even know they're rigged to die when they're captured."

"I had assumed as much," he said with a nod. "That's all, Miss Morse."

"Thanks," she said with a curt nod before she simply hurried out of the room, making sure to go through a few other stops in the SHIELD base before she headed to Viper. It would look bad if she made a path right from Fury's to her old mentor.

When she did catch up with Viper, it looked like the former victor from Two was just finishing up a call of her own, and she looked a little annoyed when Bobbi came in.

"Sitwell's been made," Bobbi told her in a rush of breath. "I don't know how — didn't even know he was _ours_ until I overheard Hill's interrogation schedule."

Viper paused and frowned. "Likely something to do with the _bombing_ that happened in Six," she muttered.

"I heard about that, but SHIELD higher-ups weren't saying if the target was Hydra or the Capitol," Bobbi admitted. "Did we get our people — our _equipment_ out in time?"

"The important people anyhow .. the equipment was destroyed _before_ the bombing."

Bobbi let out a little noise of frustration. "We need to get out of SHIELD — we're not getting any better intel being here than we would be outside, and Fury's starting to suspect… well. More than starting to, I'm sure."

"Are you getting nervous?" Viper challenged. "I didn't think you were that … scared of Fury and his little favorites."

"Scared?" Bobbi looked honestly insulted. "I'm _annoyed_ by him. You asked me to keep an eye on him, and I can't do my job since we moved to this new base. Frustrated, annoyed — not _scared_."

"Oh, I'm sure you can do well enough if you apply yourself, my dear," Viper purred.

"While we're stuck under SHIELD's umbrella, I can't spread my wings," Bobbi told her. "Not when I'm playing goodie two shoes."

"The time is not right yet," Viper told her. "Not until we get a solid reason to split — and that won't happen until we have a better hold on that idiotic program."

"I haven't been there since the move," Bobbi said with a heavy sigh as she leaned against the wall. "No official reason — but that's what makes me think Fury's suspicious."

"Perhaps you should try," Viper reasoned. "The worst that would happen is that you'd have to answer to Fury. We _need_ to know if they have working equipment here, if they are continuing their efforts even with their precious tributes collected and processed."

"I'll talk with Coulson; he's a softer target than Fury. As of right now, I don't even know where the entrance is. My hands are tied."

"Well, get on with it then," Viper said, shooing her with both hands. "While you're at it, see if you can find out where the rest of the victors are hiding away."

"Try the hangar," Bobbi said with a smirk. "That's where they are more often than their own quarters — though those are just in the east wing." She shrugged. "Closer to their director."

Viper looked thoughtful. "I suppose it may have to come down to that."

"Anything else?" Bobbi asked, pausing at the door.

"I'll let you know if I need help finding anyone in particular, though I'd rather do that little hunt on my own," Viper said with a wave, and Bobbi nodded before she slipped off, presumably to find Coulson.

* * *

 _March 6_

 _District Six_

* * *

The attack from SHIELD had leveled nearly everything that Hydra had been working on building from Essex's specifications — though Essex had his own separate research lab elsewhere, so he wasn't terribly upset by the setback.

Shmidt, on the other hand, was fuming when he made his appearance, gesturing wordlessly at the destruction SHIELD had reaped on his pet project — the man was obsessed with immortality to a degree that even Essex found questionable — before he simply started to yell at any underling nearby.

"This is absolutely unacceptable," Shmidt bellowed. "How are we to be rid of SHIELD when they have the superior tools?"

"Is that your excuse for the shoddy defense your forces put up?" Essex asked with a little sneer. "I was under the impression it was inferior intelligence that allowed them to find us."

Shmidt sneered and tried not to simply lash out, keeping in mind that in order to replicate the Tahiti process, he still needed the arrogant prick. "And I find myself looking more and more to those that refuse to keep close to Hydra as the source of the problem."

"Perhaps if your allies were more confident in your backing, you would not have this issue," Essex replied. "Even SHIELD offered some small modicum of protection, but you prove time and again to be incapable of even that."

"Yet I find myself unwilling to provide such protection or manpower to retrieve your extensive wish list when I am told that the tools we will procure will not be under Hydra's control."

"Learn to share, Shmidt," Essex said dismissively.

"If you continue to force my hand, then I will deny you the luxury of a choice."

At that, Essex's eyes flashed. "Petrovich and his ilk are children with a sledgehammer. You are destroying your best minds, and you'll not have mine — or my work, for that matter," he practically hissed, hands clenched in fists at his side.

"We shall see."

Essex sneered at the former victor and spun on his heel to leave, already glad that he had never disclosed to Shmidt the location of his research lab. He just had a few things to gather before he left. At least one of the boys had been lent out to Petrovich, but the others… It would be even easier for him if he didn't have to share his subjects with Hydra…

Yes, Essex decided, as soon as he could, he would take his leave of Shmidt.


	32. The Desolation of Tahiti

**Chapter 32: "The Desolation of Tahiti"**

* * *

 _March 9_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Charles had only just arrived at his office in the Tahiti Wing, after speaking at length with Agent Jemma Simmons that morning. He was working with every member of that team in some capacity or another after what had happened leading up to Skye's shooting. The team had taken it hard, even with the knowledge of the Tahiti secrets hidden below the Triskelion — because they knew better than anyone that there were no guarantees in Tahiti, and more than that, the mission itself had been traumatic enough.

He hadn't even had the chance to look over the reports on his desk from the previous day when there was a tentative knock at the door, and little Kamala Khan poked her head in wearing an anxious expression.

"Sorry... but ... have you seen Coulson?" she asked quietly. "No one has been able to talk to him for days, but we know he's here in Tahiti…"

"Agent Coulson is a bit preoccupied lately," Charles replied. "Is there something I can do for you in the meantime, Miss Khan?"

"Oh, well, no," she admitted. "It's just that Coulson's birthday was yesterday, and we got him a card…" She produced the envelope from behind her back with a rueful grin. "Everyone signed it, but no one can nail him down to give it to him. Remy tried… but he's not in his office ever, really…"

Charles smiled warmly, though it faltered for just a second. "I'm sure he'll be glad to see that you were all thinking of him."

Kamala nodded and seemed to pause for a moment before she blurted out, "Is everything okay? With SHIELD, I mean. We don't get much news over here on our side, and everyone we know on the other side has been gone for _days_."

"Ah, well …" Charled frowned lightly. "SHIELD has been hitting Hydra hard lately. It seems that the hangar only holds planes when they are refueling."

"That must be it," Kamala said, though she couldn't hide the little frown. "It's just that … Skye promised she'd come back a couple days ago for some more interviews, and everyone's been excited about this project…."

Charles held his breath as he tried to find a way to approach it. There was still no guarantee that Henry could get her through Tahiti without Essex. Charles was sure that he could, but Henry had his concerns … "I'm sure it just has to do with her team being so busy. Coulson should update you soon if you're missing her too terribly."

"Well, alright," Kamala said, though she looked honestly disappointed. She set the card down on Charles' desk with a little smile. "You've got a better chance of seeing Coulson than we do, since you can go both ways. Can you give that to him, please?"

"Of course," Charles replied warmly.

"Thanks," Kamala said brightly. She stood to leave, paused, and then turned back to Charles. "You know, some of us younger kids are doing better with the training now. If everyone's really as swamped as you say, we could totally help more."

"I'll pass that along," Charles said with a smile.

* * *

 _March 12_

 _SHIELD Base One_

* * *

It had been over a week since either Jubilee or Noh saw Logan, and both of them were keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of him after no one had come to let them into the super secret training gym when they were scheduled for a lesson. Both of the Wagner twins were actively playing lookout as well, and even a few of the Hudson clan got involved the moment Elsie heard that the twins were trying to track down Logan.

But none of them had any success, and they simply couldn't get any SHIELD personnel to tell them where their friend had gone — partly because the SHIELD agents didn't know themselves.

So for the moment, Noh had his chin resting on Jubilee's shoulder at the table in one of the public spaces, and Jubilee had her arms crossed watching people come in from the hangar. Both of them had one of Noh's earbuds to share between the two of them, though in Jubilee's other ear, Noh kept muttering plans for what they could do for their wedding — and everything else afterward — to pass the time and to keep their spirits up.

They very nearly missed Logan too, as he wasn't coming from the hangar, but going to it — already clad in half of his uniform anyhow. It was painfully obvious that he was headed to put on the body armor that his secret team wore on every outing.

Jubilee was off like a shot to grab Logan by the shoulder to turn him to face her. "What's the big idea?" she demanded. "Where have you been?"

He stared at her for a moment as if she was crazy. "Killin' people that need to die. Where've you been?"

"Here!" She gestured around them. "Here in this crummy base where _someone_ was supposed to be teaching classes on how to _help_!"

Logan shook his head and took a step back away from her, hands up in front of himself. "I haven't got time right now for that," he told her.

"Well, _when_?" she asked, her arms crossed.

"I don't know," he replied. "Whenever I'm done with … whatever they send me out to do."

"And you couldn't let us know there was … _stuff_ going on?" she demanded. "You're just going to drop us?"

"I'm running pretty much non-stop," he admitted. "So no. I couldn't tell you anything. And I figured you'd have more time to plot out your wedding."

"A wedding we'd feel much better about knowing that we were both capable of defending our home and family," Noh said with a little frown as he joined them. "Not many are willing to train Capitolites — especially stylists, my friend."

Logan looked truly apologetic at that. "I wish I had a better answer for you. Maybe … talk to the science babies. I'm sure they can tell you who's any good."

"We haven't seen either of them in some time," Noh admitted. He paused, then added in an almost gentle whisper, "Not since Skye was lost to us."

"Yeah, well. That's war." Logan's tone was totally flat, without the slightest bit of emotion to it.

Jubilee and Noh glanced at each other, and in an instant, Jubilee had rushed to wrap Logan up in a hug.

"Jubes ... I don't … have time for this."

"Too bad," she told him without making a move to let go. He let out a sigh and tried to return the favor — but it was clear his heart wasn't in it at all. When she did finally let him go, she stuck her finger in the center of his chest. "Don't. Die," she told him sternly.

He gave her a dry look. "Don't worry."

"I think you'll find we always worry about those we hold dear," Noh told him with a small smile that slipped as he looked Logan over a little better, his trained stylist gaze catching what Logan's uniform tried to hide. "Especially those who go off on missions already injured."

"Haven't got time to sit around," Logan said, turning again toward the hangar. "See ya later."

The two stylists watched Logan leave before Noh reached over to pull Jubilee into a small hug. "I'm sure he'll be fine," he told her, because even if he wasn't sure he believed it himself, it looked like she needed to hear it.

* * *

 _March 15_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Coulson was pacing — he had been for well over a week, and he couldn't seem to stop, even after Hank McCoy had finally told him that all had gone well. Skye was set to wake up at any time. But he wasn't going to be able to relax until he saw that she was awake, that she was responding, that nothing had gone _wrong._

Because of Skye's familiarity on how Hank had been handling the wakeups in Tahiti, Coulson had requested a hospital style setting rather than the 'new homey room' angle. After all, he didn't want to hit her with too much shock when she woke up, and the 'homey room' decor would definitely tip her off.

Hank had been more than willing to accommodate Coulson's requests — as well as his anxieties. But he was still sick with nerves.

So it was an immense relief when Skye did finally start to come around — and tried to smile the second she saw Coulson. "Hey, AC," she said tiredly.

He didn't even try to go for low key; he just wrapped her up in a tight hug, and she was so honestly surprised by it that she couldn't even think of anything to do but return it.

"You okay, Coulson?" she asked with a frown.

"I'm just so glad you're here," he said quietly.

That had her frowning even more as she pulled back from the hug a bit, and he could see the gears turning in her head as she slowly brought a hand to her stomach and didn't feel any bandages or any evidence of what had happened. "What…?"

"I'm so sorry," he told her in a quiet rush. "But you don't have to worry about him anymore. Grant Ward is dead."

"What? How?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I didn't get the details, to be honest," Coulson admitted. "But it was immediate. And the debrief was … incredibly sparse."

Skye met his gaze for a moment as she thought it over, and then, slowly, she started to shake her head. "Where is he?" she asked Coulson. " _How_ is he…?"

"I don't know," Coulson admitted. "He's been working. A lot. I haven't been able to corner him to have a word."

"Coulson..." She looked down at herself, at the bed and the hospital clothes. "He thinks I'm dead."

He nodded his head, not dropping her gaze.

"Where's Fury?" she asked suddenly. "We were working on — I need to talk to him."

"And I'm sure he'll be down before you get settled in all the way."

"I don't want to get settled in," she said with real heat to her tone. "I just need to — we're _so clos_ e to telling people. I won't be here that long," she added, already trying to push to her feet and get moving.

"You need to take it easy, Skye," Coulson said not two seconds before Fitz and Simmons rushed through the door and practically tackled Skye between them.

"How are you feeling?" Simmons asked earnestly.

"Mad," Skye said honestly. "About just — everything. Ward and this…" She gestured around the room. "And — wait, how long?" She turned to face Coulson. "How much have I missed?"

"It's been ten days," he told her.

"Ten days," she repeated, her eyes wide. "It's going to take me ages just to catch up with the Capitol broadcasts…."

"You don't need to dive right back into it, Skye," Coulson said. "Take it easy — like we tell all of them."

"I'm not going to go fight anybody; I just need a laptop," Skye pointed out.

"You still need to keep from overtaxing yourself," he replied.

She glanced around at all three of her teammates, all of whom had matching expressions. "Fine," she muttered. "I'll get my eight hours every night and three square meals and May can tuck me in if you're all that worried."

"We don't want you to lose any of the progress you've made," Simmons said sincerely.

"And … we'll keep an eye out for you," Fitz offered quietly.

Skye looked toward Fitz and couldn't help but reach over and squeeze his arm. "Thanks," she said before she turned to Coulson. "So what's the plan here? Just… eat some food, get some sleep, laze around until you're all sure I'm not going to fall apart?"

"More or less something like that," Coulson said with a nod. "Though … it might be a little longer than that."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Skye insisted as she got back to her feet, then paused. "Uh ... which… which room is mine?" she asked, this time with a little waver to her voice.

"I'll take you there," Coulson offered as he held his hand out to her, and she regarded him for a moment before she took his arm. "At least we don't need to go through the whole tour."

"No, I think I know my way around just fine," Skye agreed with a long, weary sigh.

As it turned out, the walk to her new room was quiet. All of the Tahiti kids were in training of some sort or another — or possibly in the cafeteria — which just gave Skye a chance to settle in privately. Which she was immensely grateful for when she got to her room to find a box placed neatly on the end of her bed. She looked inside to see a collection of random bits of clothes and coffee mugs, among other things ... everything she'd left scattered over Logan's room. And in an instant, the anger and frustration melted into just….

Her whole expression fell and she stood there staring at it, eyes brimming with tears as she looked up at Coulson.

His stoic look cracked in an instant, and he seemed to be only now analyzing her entire state. "You're having one hell of a day," he said, to which she nodded twice and lunged forward, arms outstretched to curl into a hug.

Coulson hugged her tightly, his hand on the back of her head. "It's okay. We're on top of things. Watching him. May's on it. Fitz too. It's okay," he said in a soft tone, shushing her as she melted into tears.

So she was very, very glad that Coulson was the only one there for that, and grateful that he took it on himself to comfort her so easily.

But that privacy was bound to be short-lived, and after she'd gotten herself a little bit under control, she found she really didn't want to be in that room anymore. At least not right at that moment. So, she gathered herself up and changed into something much more 'her' before she stepped out of the room and put her hands in her pockets. She shrugged her shoulders up to her ears and headed down toward the main gathering room, almost dreading it as she heard the ruckus that was going on inside.

There was an intense game of table tennis going on between the two Spider-Men a little further back, and Kate and Clint were arguing over a game of darts. Most of the other kids were spread out — Bruce and Tony playing chess; Kurt curled up on the couch with a book; Kamala and Gwen cheering on the game. The safest — and quietest — spot seemed to be on the couch closest to the little library shelves, so that was where Skye went, feeling a little self-conscious as she tried to find a book to stick her nose in, since she didn't have her laptop back yet or anything to _do_.

"Strange place to just hide and read," Kurt said as he approached her quietly, his head tipped to the side. "Is it _that_ busy on the other side?"

"It was when I left," Skye said with a little frown. "But my information's old — you guys would know better than me."

Kurt slipped into the spot next to her with a deepening frown. "I don't think I follow you," he said hesitantly.

Skye glanced up at him for a moment and then let out a breath as she tried to hold back her frustration. "Coulson told me it's been ten days since I … since I ... you know…"

"No," Kurt said, his eyes widened suddenly. "No … that ... " he started shaking his head at her.

She let out a longer sigh and nodded. "This creep ... this… this guy my team's been after for pretty much a year… He shot me," she admitted, the anger and hurt obvious in her tone even though she was trying not to show it.

Kurt let out a breath and leaned forward to give her a hug, though the second he did, she couldn't keep the frustration back as the angry tears started up all over again.

"I'm going to fix this," she said fiercely, but without releasing him either. "That project — the interviews — I'm _going_ to fix this."

"And we'll help you," Kurt added, though he was looking completely upset himself as he glanced over to Kate, who had stopped arguing with Clint when the two of them noticed the very upset SHIELD agent in their midst.

Kate met his gaze and vaulted over the back of the couch to sit down beside the two of them, though her gaze never left Kurt's. "It's alright," she said to Skye, since that seemed to be the source of the tears. "Everyone needs an Elf-ish shoulder to lean on now and then."

Skye glanced up at Kate — and then around the room to find that most of the kids had stopped what they were doing and were in various stages of either watching or badly pretending they weren't paying attention. "Sorry," she muttered, wiping her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I'm just … this just happened a little while ago, and I haven't really had time to process it yet."

Kate glanced at Kurt and shared a little nod with him as she hooked an arm around Skye's shoulders. "It takes everyone a while to process," she said. "Sometimes it's easier without the audience," she added with a significant glance around the room before she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Come on — you can cry on me, or there's a good punching bag I know Bruce isn't using," she said, thumbing over her shoulder at where Bruce and Tony were.

"Yeah, I'd … rather not do the punching bag thing," she replied quietly.

"Well, there's also a good range here, and if you want to draw faces on the targets, that always makes me feel better," Kate told her. She leaned in close as she added, "You know ... Steve has a real talent. He can make the paper targets look like Thanos in, like, three minutes with some colored pencils and paints."

"That sounds tempting, but as it turns out, the guy I want to shoot is already dead," she replied with her nose scrunched up. "Figures. I mean. It's good. But still."

"Well that's just no fun," Kate told her as she helped Skye to her feet. "We'll have to come up with someone else for you to shoot. Sometimes I draw horrible eyebrows on them to make Creed. And I caught Bobbi with some green lipsticked targets the other day that seemed to help her with some — ah — anger issues."

"Ugh!" Skye grumbled. "I didn't think about her. That's just … _perfect_. Evil green skank has been trolling around already, I'm sure."

"Then that's what we'll do," Kate decided as she slid her arm through Skye's arm. "Best part is you don't even have to have good aim — not that you don't, but you're not a Hawkeye, sorry — to get the point across." She kept right on telling Skye about the possibilities down at the range — from kill shots to just shooting person-appropriate patterns — as they walked, which did seem to get a little smirk out of Skye.

When they did get down there, and even found a couple that were prepared to look like Viper as Kate had described, Skye shook her head and poked one of the green targets in the forehead. "Oh, yeah. I'll shoot this one."

Kate grinned quietly before she hung the targets and sent them down the range. The two girls were just getting started with the Director made his appearance.

"Ladies," Fury said as he stepped into the area behind the two of them. "Who are we shooting tonight?" He stepped forward just enough to take the position to Skye's right and hang a target of his own. "You must be feeling pretty good if you're already practicing your aim."

"Mad is more like it," Skye told him as she reloaded.

"And I know it's no consolation to tell you you're not the only one," Fury replied as he picked up his sidearm and joined the girls.

"No, but when I'm done redecorating this target, you and I have some work to do," Skye told him.

"That we do," Fury agreed. When they'd gone through the magazines in their weapons, all three of them hit the button to return the targets, and though Fury's had the expected grouping of three in each vital area, and Kate had gone the trickshot route and spelled out a perfect 'H' on her 'Creed' target's chest, while Skye had seemed to concentrate all of her efforts in an area about the size of a quarter right between paper Viper's eyes.

Fury looked at both of their handiwork and had to smirk. "You might want to add another one to your hit list, _director._ "

Kate had to laugh when Skye's reaction to that was to turn a brilliant crimson and start to stammer. "Already planning your retirement, Fury?" Kate laughed.

"The way those two tell it? That's already set in stone," Fury told her with a little smirk as he watched Skye try to recover.

"It's a _joke_ ," Skye insisted, both to Kate and Fury. "Logan started it."

"Oh, then it'll never die," Kate said.

"Never," Fury agreed.

With that, Kate smirked at both of them. "Have fun plotting world domination, Director One and Director Two," she said. "I'm sure I have something non-director-y to do somewhere."

"Put some braids on the next one," Fury told her.

"You got it," Kate said with a little smirk. "Ribbons or no?"

"I don't think that's something the tribe has ever pushed," Fury told her.

Kate looked surprised for a second as she put together the hint he'd just dropped, though she recovered nicely with a little, "Then the Creed with pigtail braids and snout will get all the ribbon."

He scrunched up his face and waved her off. "I don't ever wanna think about that, come on now. Don't do that. I have to look at the man."

"You're welcome!" Kate called out brightly over her shoulder before she practically skipped out of the range to go find herself an Elf.

Once Kate was gone, Fury turned to Skye. "I'm going to go forward in assuming that you'd like to continue on your integration work."

"I'd like to step it up," Skye told him honestly.

"Who do you want to be the one to tell Logan?" Fury asked.

"My first choice would be Kurt, for obvious reasons," Skye said.

"Outside of Tahiti," Fury clarified with a dry look.

Skye had to smirk crookedly at him. "Can't blame a girl for trying." She let out a sigh and shook her head. "I know you're trying to get Mac in here working with the kids more on the Sentinel armor — he'd be good. May also has a good back and forth with him."

"I'll let May know," he said with a nod. "But I need a debrief on what exactly you did to their system. They've been trying to hit us, so whatever it was, apparently it worked. At first we thought it was the retaliation strike on their barracks ... "

Skye brightened. "Oh, I almost forgot about that entirely with everything else going on." The smile started to widen the more she nodded along to her own thoughts. "Right, so. I wrote a nasty little virus into their systems so every time they try to salvage their data — anything that made it through my download and purge? It not only destroys what they're trying to save but transmits it back to my server back in Coulson's section so only we have it."

"Then you're going to need your laptop," he told her.

"I need the whole server," Skye told him. "There's too much for one machine to process — especially just a laptop."

"Can Fitz do it on his own?"

"Oh sure," Skye said.

"Then I'll put him on it right away," he agreed. "Anything else you need? Because really, Skye — they are _scrambling_. You hit them hard enough to cause real panic, and I'd like to see that keep up."

"I'll need a backup laptop in case they break the encryptions ... I was sort of in a rush, and I don't want them finding their files," she said. "And dummy data to send them on the wrong track when they inevitably start looking for their Tahiti research… That's what they were doing, by the way. They didn't have a resurrection on the books, but they had all the tech."

Fury frowned. "Then I want that to be your top priority — keeping them from that technology. Public reveal can wait."

She opened her mouth to argue, but the argument died as soon as she tried to form it. He was right — and she knew it. "Yeah, don't worry. Give me a few hours, and I'll have an entire set of dummy data that will set back their research for _months_."

He nodded, and the two of them started to head out of the shooting range. When she remained quiet, Fury decided to have mercy on her. "I didn't say that telling the _victors_ had to wait," he said gently. "Keep your focus where you need it."

She didn't even bother to hide the relief as she nodded a few times over. " _Thank you_ ," she breathed out.

There was another few moments of silence before he gave her the clue she needed on how Logan was doing. "Hill's list is looking pretty sparse, by the way."

"He's the one who killed Ward, isn't he?" Skye asked.

"Oh yeah," Fury replied, nodding. "Didn't ask. Just took my best pilot and left."

"If you don't tell him soon, he's just going to keep… going," Skye told him.

"That's what concerns me," Fury said. "His targets are getting closer and closer to the Captiol again, and unless he's on an official job with the team — he's refusing to go in with the mask."

That got Skye to simply stop and turn his way, her eyes wide. "You _have_ to tell him," she breathed out, only barely keeping the worry and panic in check. "You have to tell him _now_."

"Working on it," Fury said, holding up both hands in a conciliatory gesture. "He's hard to nail down — taking his own runs and stepping up timetables on Hill's. Haven't been able to get two words with him."

"Then tell May to light a fire," Skye said, not even noticing the way Fury was trying to calm her down. "He's going to get himself _killed_ at that rate."

"Thank you, _director_ ," he said with a little glare. "That _was_ the plan. I would have done it before you woke up if it wasn't for the fact that he isn't leaving _any_ witnesses — and his debriefs to Hill have been written out on the plane and left on her desk."

She wasn't sure if it was the director jab or the revelation that Logan was killing everyone, but she closed her mouth and set her jaw and fell silent.

"There's no cause to weep, the people that are associated with those on the list are just as bad as the ones that are actually on it."

"They're not the ones I'm worried about," Skye said through her teeth, finding that she was getting more and more upset the more she heard about what Logan was up to on the other side of things. If she was _there_ , she could at least try to talk … well, she didn't know if she could talk him down but she could pin him down into a kiss that lasted until he stopped. Being. Stupid.

"I'll tell May to catch him on his way back from the hangar," he told her.

"And I'll get to work as soon as Fitz brings my stuff," she said with a little nod. "Ten days of Hydra trying to break into my code… I've got catching up to do." With that, they reached the edge of the Tahiti Wing, and for the first time, Skye wasn't allowed to go through. She paused and watched until Fury had gone through, frowning at the door, before she let out a sigh and headed for her room. She might as well unpack.

She took her time getting there, not looking forward to this particular chore. And when she did finally start, it was clear that it was a half-hearted endeavor. Most of what was in the box was just flotsam and jetsam. Socks. Three shirts. Two coffee mugs. A couple tubes of lipstick that she thought she'd lost. But at the bottom of the box, Skye found the tablet she'd designed for Logan so they could shoot messages to each other, and when she uncovered it, she dropped the shirt she was holding that had hidden it until then as the unfairness of it all came rushing back over her, and for the third time that day, she started to cry — though with no one else to lean on or try and shush her, this time, it was a little more visceral as she ended up kicking a chair over before she hit the bed and somehow got her legs up over the edge of it as she curled up and finally tried to get a hold of herself, the box on the floor and its contents scattered.

So of course that was when Fitz arrived, looking slightly red-faced because he'd carried her stuff all the way down to the Tahiti Wing — and even more red-faced when he realized he was intruding.

"I'll just… I'll just… here," Fitz set down the server and the laptop awkwardly by the desk in her room, alternating between looking for a way out and watching her guardedly.

"Thanks," she muttered, trying to get a better hold of herself as she pushed herself up to sit on the bed.

"Yeah, sure," Fitz said, nodding a few times. He scooted awkwardly back a few steps, one hand rubbing his other arm. "And uh ... Skye?" She looked up at him. "I'm keeping an eye on him," he promised in a rush. "I've been working on a magnet that should keep him from using the claws when he shouldn't, and it's done now, so ... yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck as she stared at him with wide eyes. "It would have been done earlier, but ... the ones I had were a bit too crude once I found out the level of _control_ he worked up ..."

Skye rushed over to wrap her arms around Fitz in a hug that he was quick to return. "Thanks, Fitz," she whispered when she released him, and he awkwardly nodded, not sure how to respond.

"Just, ah, let me know ... if you need any help or anything…"

"Will do."

* * *

As Kurt watched Kate lead Skye off to the shooting range with one arm draped around the shoulders of Tahiti's newest resident, he was only just keeping his reaction in check.

But the second the door was closed, that outer calm _snapped_. He let out a shout that was equal parts anger and frustration and lashed out at the nearest immobile object, not quite registering the fact that he'd caved in the end table and shattered the glass circlet in the middle until after he heard the glass hit the floor.

The unfairness of it all — the hit after hit that was coming his best friend's way, the continued setbacks… _all of it_. All of it rushed over him as he grabbed hold of the half-shelf behind the couch and knocked that aside as well, books spilling out everywhere before the whole thing clattered to the ground with a satisfying sort of _crash_.

The rest of the Tahiti kids gathered in the room simply stood back and let him express his rage. Not one of them was going to tell him he was wrong. And no one had anything they could think of that might calm him down.

He likely could have gone on to trash most of that part of the room if Kitty hadn't finally, quietly, approached — not with any words or excuses but with a hand on his shoulder that was enough to turn him her way before she pulled him into a quiet hug.

It didn't do much to curb the root of his frustrations or the fact that he still felt like tearing the world apart, but it was impossible to continue to rage when he was trapped in Kitty's hug, and eventually, he let his shoulders drop and returned the hug a little better than the loose sort of drape he'd been using until then.

Which meant that, by the time Kate returned, still in a good mood from shooting with Skye and discovering that apparently Skye and Logan had _inside jokes with the director of SHIELD_ , she didn't see the main show, only the overturned bookshelf and the broken end table and Kitty with one arm still around Kurt.

"Yeah… you're coming with me," she said quietly, almost under her breath, as she made her way over to Kurt and gave Kitty a quick look of gratitude before she pulled him into a good long kiss and then threaded her arm through his to take him somewhere a little more private — not really speaking, just holding on and leaning her head on his shoulder all the way down to her room.


	33. A Magically Uncomfortable Place

**Chapter 33: "A Magically Uncomfortable Place"**

* * *

 _March 18_

 _New SHIELD Base_

* * *

It was clear that May was agitated by the fact that she was leaning over Fitz' shoulder as he looked through the surveillance video.

"He came back from Two days ago," May muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "There is _no_ reason for him not to be on tape."

"Unless he just doesn't want to be found," Fitz pointed out, then straightened up the slightest when May shot him a glare for it. "I'm just saying — consider the person you're trying to find. You know he's at the top of Fury's list for infiltration without being seen. There's no reason to think that he wouldn't use those skills if he wanted to be left alone."

May rubbed the spot on her forehead between her eyes. "I literally just need a minute. Less than that if he doesn't try to talk back. This should not be _this_ difficult."

"I think you're underestimating him," Fitz said under his breath. "As far as stubbornness goes."

May let out a breath and took a step back from the monitors. "Let me know if you find him. I'm going back to the hangar," she said as she turned on her heel. "At least we know he'll be _there_ sooner or later."

Fitz ran a hand through his hair as he heard the door slide shut behind her. He didn't blame May for being frustrated. _He_ was frustrated, and they'd only been looking together since Logan's mission from Two ended.

They'd looked through pretty much everywhere, too. Hangar, offices, halls — everything residential. So after Fitz had done a pass of everything — again — he started to get tired of it and started flipping through feeds at random. At that point, random chance was as good as anything else they had in terms of plans.

So he was totally shocked when he saw Logan in an unused wing — one that was planned for expansion as more people joined the revolution, which they were doing.

"Oh. _Obviously_ ," Fitz said, almost shocked by the simplicity of it and the fact that they'd missed it. He stared at the screen for another moment and considered calling May — then thought better of it and instead grabbed the box on his desk that he'd had ready and waiting for two weeks now.

May might not get through to Logan when he was like this, and Fitz was worried enough that his project, he was sure, took priority. Even if they did tell Logan the truth — well. Fitz didn't know how he'd react. How could anyone react to that after what the guy had been through?

He was nearly to the wing where he'd spotted Logan on film when he finally sent May a quick message to let her know where he was — and where Logan was, though it would take her a while to get all the way across the base. So he was totally by himself when he came upon Logan in an empty room, completely dead to the world asleep.

Fitz took a deep, steadying breath and stepped inside. "Ah ... Logan?" he called out, then a little louder. "Hello?"

Logan lifted his head off of his arm and barely opened one eye. "What do you need?" he asked thickly before he pushed himself slowly upright.

Fitz took a deep breath and considered his options for a second — with concern for both Logan and Skye and the fact that Logan had been avoiding everyone running around in his head — before he decided to just pull out the magnetic bracelets and slap them on either wrist. "These are for your claws," he told Logan matter-of-factly.

He sat up a little straighter and frowned down at his wrists. "What're you talkin' about?" he asked, clearly starting to wake up.

"Think of it like a safety, but for biomechanical knives," Fitz said.

" _I don't need a safety_ ," he replied with his nose scrunched up.

But Fitz kept right on. "Erm ...It'll turn on a magnet to keep you from using your claws. You won't use it during missions or anything like that ... this is just ... like I said ... it's just in case ... we don't want you to use them accidentally ... or on purpose to do something dreadful…"

Logan was already trying to find how to take the devices off, but he absolutely froze when he heard what Fitz's concern was. "You're worried … _what_? That I might _off myself_ before I get the damn job done?" He was giving Fitz a glare of total disbelief.

"Well, it's just that ...the revolution's started, and you haven't been yourself, and really, it's completely understandable with everything that's happened lately," Fitz started to babble. "And you have to admit, locking yourself away…"

"With all the open access I have ... to all the weapons and explosives I could want… _this_ is your top concern?"

"Well, yes!" Fitz admitted.

"Take 'em off," Logan growled out as he got to his feet and started stalking toward Fitz.

"Ah, no," Fitz replied, shaking his head, though he scrambled backward away from Logan.

"I'm not kidding, Fitz," Logan said from between clenched teeth and following him as he moved. "I'm not gonna do anything to hurt myself with the claws. I got too much work to get done."

"Yes, alright, yes, that's true — but no one knows when you'll be done or what you're doing — and _then_ what?" Fitz argued.

"Not for you to worry about," Logan ground out. "I'll be done when Victor Creed is dead. Until then — mind your own damn business."

Fitz looked slightly more wide-eyed at that, if it was possible. "That's not — you can't be serious—"

"Like a heart attack," Logan replied. "Fury won't give me the green light until we're done with him." He held up his wrists. "Now get these damn things _off_."

"I… I don't have … I didn't bring ... I thought you might be mad, so I didn't…"

Logan made a quick move forward and clapped his hand on Fitz's shoulder, pulling him a little closer to him. "Then I guess we're takin' a walk together, aren't we?"

Fitz nodded wordlessly. "Right — yeah—- looks like," he said.

The two of them made their way to the lab, wordlessly — and down paths that Fitz hadn't taken before. It was apparently the most direct route possible, and when they got there, only Simmons was waiting. "Get 'em off," Logan said in a low tone over Fitz's shoulder.

Fitz nodded, but he paused for a moment when he got to his desk. "Just ... let me make sure it works before we remove them," he said.

Logan gave him a hard glare, but nodded once. "Fine. What do I gotta do short of danglin' you off the building?"

Fitz paused as he pulled the control out of its hiding place in his desk and then looked to Logan. "Um … just ... try to use the claws," he instructed.

When Logan did as Fitz asked, instead of the claws erupting from between his knuckles, he swore and shook his arms out with an accusatory glare. "Happy now?" he asked. "It works."

"Well, that's something at least," Fitz said as he let out a breath of relief. "I've been working on those for a while now…." He trailed off when he glanced at Logan, who was looking borderline murderous. "Yes, right, coming off now," he said as he hit the unlock button on the controls, and both of the bracelets came unlocked with a click. "There we go. No harm, no foul — easy enough."

But it was obvious that Logan was flat out pissed off about Fitz's new invention, and instead of wasting another second trying to rein in his temper, he spun on his heel and stormed out — refusing to acknowledge either of them as he stalked away, disappearing again into the compound.

"Well." Fitz said after a moment's silence as Simmons gaped at him. "That went poorly."

* * *

 _March 20_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

It wasn't that Skye hated doctors or medical. Being friends with Fitzsimmons, she was used to having to deal with lab equipment and needles and intrusive questions. It was just that there wasn't anything _wrong_ with her, so when Hank McCoy had asked her to come by for an examination, it was more of an imposition when she had so much else going on. The Tahiti reveal project, screwing with Hydra's intel, not to mention watching the Capitol channels to see if she could score any more PR hits against them, since those had been so successful at winning recruits before… She didn't have time for Hank to examine her and tell her she was fine.

Which she was. She was just tired.

"My dear girl," McCoy said with a smile. "You don't have to look so down about coming to my offices." He tried his best to make her more comfortable. "It's simply a standard follow-up to see how you're doing."

"Sorry, it's just — there's so much else going on that I need to get done," Skye told him. "It's kind of… busy."

"I understand, of course, of course," Henry replied before he patted her hand gently. "I'll try to be quick. But I still need to know how you're faring — run a few tests. You're looking a bit … pale. Have you been eating properly?" He dove right into his tests, working quickly as he drew a few vials of blood and started a general exam.

"Yeah, I do get out of my room for that — and coffee," Skye said with a small smile. "I'm not like Stark."

"Yes, much better hygiene," Henry said with a smirk. "How about exercise, or sleep — are you sleeping well?"

"Oh, well, I could probably exercise more. I've been more on my laptop than at the gym," Skye admitted slowly before she took in a little breath. "Sleep ... well. I guess everyone has issues sleeping at first, right?"

"Actually, no," Henry replied over his glasses before he sat back with his hands clasped in front of himself. "Most new arrivals border on hibernation."

"Oh." Skye blinked at him in honest surprise and then bit her lip. "So it's just me then."

"Yes, I'm afraid so," he replied gently. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I can't give you anything to help you sleep. But I will let you know if there is a problem with your blood."

"Well, let me know if there is," she said as she rolled down her sleeve. "In the meantime, I'll ... I don't know. Drink warm milk. It's fine, really."

Henry looked her over a bit more closely, frowning slightly. "If you don't find yourself sleeping the night soon, then we may be forced to intervene in some way."

Skye smirked quietly. "Go right ahead if you feel like it's necessary. I wouldn't say no to a good night's sleep."

Henry frowned deeper. "Is there something that I've overlooked? You seem to have your own thoughts on this …"

"No," she said quietly. "It's just ... you're looking for something medical, and I think it's a little simpler than that. Like …maybe the bed's just too cold."

"I'm sure we can arrange for something to warm you up … more blankets …"

Skye laughed and hopped down from the table. "You're overthinking it, Dr. McCoy. It's fine, really. If everything goes as planned, it should be fixed soon anyway; I'm just waiting on May to nail down my idiot space heater and tell him I'm not dead."

"Oh!" Henry looked completely surprised for a moment before a smile graced his features and he started to chuckle. "I didn't realize that you two were so … close."

Skye had to smirk even wider. "Well, that was the point, wasn't it? Didn't want anyone to use it against him. Or me."

"Well, you did a fine job keeping it quiet," Henry replied. "Alright. I guess you'll just have to suffer until Agent May handles it for you."

"That's the plan," Skye said with an exaggerated sigh. "But thanks for the concern," she added, this time giving him a little salute with two fingers. "I'll be fine."

"Wait, Skye — we're not quite done here," Henry called out. "None of my patients leave without a little something for being cooperative."

She smirked. "The Capitol doctors gave me lollipops when I was a kid," she said, mostly teasing.

"Lollipops are overrated," Henry replied. "I have chocolate."

Skye beamed and slid over to join him near a table, where he pulled out one of the drawers to reveal his stash of sweets. "Oh, this is much better than lollipops," she agreed as she popped a piece of chocolate into her mouth, knowing that this was a real treat with candy not exactly at the top of the list of things to steal from the Capitol.

"I wish I had some creme-filled confections, but … alas. This is the best I could do."

"It's still awesome." She beamed at him and lightly punched him in the arm. "See you 'round, okay?"

"If you don't sleep soon? Yes, most certainly." He waved at her as she left and simply went to work on her blood tests.

Skye, for her part, went back to her room to work on more of her projects — that was the one thing she couldn't complain about; she was definitely busy. She had pretty much everything queued up and ready to go for when Fury gave the go-ahead on the public reveal for at least the first three interviews, and Hydra hadn't broken her encryption while she'd been dead, so all that data was still intact… Now all she had to do was slog through what she'd managed to steal as her algorithm decoded it…

She was so wrapped up in her work that she didn't notice how late it was until May arrived and seemed surprised to see her still up and working. Though the coffee mugs around Skye's desk certainly explained part of that, at least.

"All the coffee and you can't figure out why you're not sleeping?" May asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'll crash eventually. It's fine," Skye said, waving the comment off as she stood back from the computer, stretched, and grinned at May when she saw the box May was holding. "Alright, what'd you bring me this time?" she asked.

"Some more clothes, a few little trinkets from Fitzsimmons … and a little something I thought you might want to tide you over."

Skye smirked up at her like a kid finding a present, then peered over the edge of the box before she broke into a genuine grin as she pulled out the long-sleeved flannel shirt. "You snuck into his room?" she teased as she stared down at the soft, warm shirt and smiled to herself.

"Like it's hard to do," May countered. "He's never _in_ his room. Ever. I'm still not sure how he gets his clothes."

"So still no luck pinning him down?" Skye asked with a sigh as she set the box on the edge of her bed, though she was still holding the shirt to her chest without even thinking about it.

"He's awful. I'm pretty sure he's actively avoiding me. Especially after the little stunt Fitz pulled."

"Yeah, Fitz told me about that. He apologized I think fourteen times before I made him sit down," Skye admitted with a little sigh.

"I think he was right to make those," May said. "For the record. Your guy is more or less going rogue."

"He's just—"

"Reckless."

" _Upset_ ," Skye said. "I do the same thing when I'm mad, more or less — it's just that I do it on a computer."

"You go on sanctioned murder sprees?" May replied with her arms crossed over her chest.

Skye had to pause at that one. "Ah, no, not really .. but… come on, May. Just pin him down! This is getting ridiculous!"

She fixed her with a very unamused look. "I _will_. Don't worry. I'm tired of playing nice with him."

"Just make sure you bring him here when you're done," Skye said.

"Careful what you wish for," May tried to tease.

"I know what I'm asking for," Skye replied easily. She glanced at the empty coffee mug and then at her laptop before she let out a sigh. "I'm just gonna save this and go to sleep. But thanks for the update. It's driving me nuts being _stuck_ down here."

"I'm sure you can come up with some way to entertain yourself in the meantime," May said as she stood up. "He's not in any of the occupied wings, by the way."

Skye frowned as she unconsciously balled a fist in his shirt. "Well, find him. Wherever he is."

"Get some sleep," May shot back. "I'll see you soon."

Skye waved at her SO and then let out a breath once the door was closed. She saved her work, pulled off her jeans and tee shirt, and slipped into the flannel shirt, the sleeves too long as she wrapped it around herself and crawled into bed. She was passed out almost as soon as she'd gotten comfortable under the blankets.

* * *

 _March 21_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kate made her way down the residential halls after lunch with a determined sort of look on her face. The newest resident of Tahiti was still technically a tech teacher, and she'd missed her morning class. Everyone had chalked it up to all the other crazy that was going on — with Hydra and with the whole getting used to being undead — but Kate was curious enough to go snooping while everyone else was still chatting and eating.

Besides, she sort of felt like Skye was part of the group, all things considered.

So she just went ahead and invited herself to Skye's room, peeking in just in case something was up — only to see that Skye was still zonked out asleep, looking like she hadn't moved a muscle all night, curled up on her side... and wearing what could _only_ be one of Logan's flannel shirts.

Kate stared for a moment, put a hand over her mouth to stifle the delighted giggle, and then closed the door once more, practically _skipping_ back to the cafeteria — and even more delighted when she saw that Kurt was still there with Peter and Gwen.

She dropped into the seat next to Kurt, who had to smirk her way for a moment. "That was fast," he teased.

"I know everything now," Kate said with a haughty look and a spark of trouble in her eyes.

"That sounds like an awful lot for just a quick peek," Kurt pointed out.

"That's what _you_ think," Kate said. "But you didn't see Skye completely dead asleep in _Logan's shirt_ ," she practically crowed.

"What?" Kurt asked, shocked but unable to hide the growing grin.

"Oh yeah. Red flannel." Kate nodded seriously. "Which just explains _oh, so much_."

"You think so?" Kurt asked, before he pulled her into a hug. "What all does it explain, Hawkeye? Other than the fact that she needs something snuggly."

Kate beamed at him. "Oh, the tiredness, the sad little looks. The everything," she said airily.

"You have a whole scenario built up in your head already, don't you?"

"I'm just saying, Kurt. If she didn't want to sleep without his shirt on — that means she slept with it on _all the time_."

"Possibly," Kurt said with a nod. "Of course … there's no proof yet."

"Well, isn't that what the _longing looks_ are for?" Kate asked significantly. "Waiting on the guy who can confirm oh so much?"

"Well … who knows how long that will take with all the setbacks," Kurt said with a little frown.

Kate leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Yes, well. Have a little faith," she teased him.

He gave her the driest look she'd ever seen on him. "Really, Kate? Really."

"If you can't take it, don't dish it out," she sang to him and then kissed him before he could argue with her.


	34. Ferdinand Magellan

**Chapter 34: Ferdinand Magellan**

* * *

 _March 19th_

 _Tahiti Side of SHIELD Base One_

* * *

For as much fun as it was watching Kurt and Kate … and Wade and Cassie … and Tony and Pepper and … just … all the happy couples around him, Peter Parker had taken about all he could handle.

If it wasn't bad enough that his best friends were making eyes at each other all the time, then watching Kurt fume silently as Kitty and Peter Quill flirted, not to mention the mood swing that seemed to hit Kurt whenever he spent a few minutes with Skye … it was enough to make Peter finally brave the cobwebs and potential spider infestation that he _knew_ was threatening to happen as soon as he got near those eight-legged creepers.

Yes. It was time, at last, to see if he could surprise Gwen while she was working on her super secret bio projects in a different lab. Kate had given him a hand-drawn map outlining where he could go and where he couldn't — and where he _might_ get a little tiny itsy bitsy glimpse of Aunt May or one of the other family members of the Tahiti squad if he was _insanely_ lucky … though she said that … that they hadn't quite figured out how to get by the pressure switches and hidden triggers, so even though they could see the vent, they couldn't get close enough to see out of it or to effectively eavesdrop.

But that was a little more ambitious than Peter was willing to try first time out into spider land. And he had a pretty blonde girl that he needed to sneak up on.

Peter had his hands on the edge of the vent into the ductwork as he let out a long breath through his lips and then pulled himself up. "Got my map … now I just gotta find my girl."

He started through the ducts easily enough. "This … isn't too bad," Peter said under his breath as he looked at the dusty trails where the other sneaky ventilation travellers had gone through. It wasn't nearly as tight of a squeeze as Clint made it sound, and Peter was quick to get the hang of things, muttering to himself the directions. "Right, right, left, right …. Lef-t," he paused, carefully navigating his way past a pressure sensor before he ran into a dead end. "Crap. Okay. Where did I go wrong?" He sat down, since the ductwork seemed to open up a bit so that he could sit upright, as he pulled the map out of his back pocket.

"Missed a turn at Poughkeepsie somewhere …" As he tried to retrace his steps mentally, his hair stood up on end, and a moment later, the paper in his hand was sucked up the ventilation shaft. "Woah! No! Wait!" He didn't even think about the consequences as he chased the map — one hand and foot on either side of the ventilation shaft as he climbed up after it. He rushed faster after the paper as it danced higher and higher — until finally, it seemed to disappear long before it should have hit the fan. "No no no no no …. I need that!"

When he got a little higher up, he finally saw it — stuck to a grate to his left. A grate that went into a whole new system of ventilation shafts. Peter pocketed his map and stared down the vents for a long moment before he couldn't help but take out the screwdriver that Kate had warned him he might need to work on some of the exits from the ventilation system.

He carefully removed the grate and then shifted to get into the new vent, only looking down after he'd safely made his way into the duct. "Oh. Yeah. That … was a little higher up than I thought." As he peeked down the shaft, he felt a tickle at the back of his neck, and a moment later, something bit him — which had him scrambling backward and trying to get the webs off of him. He ended up going down several different vents and stumbled down another shaft before he finally came to a stop where he could hear voices.

Before he could stop himself, Peter crept forward and peeked through the grate and almost gasped when he saw Fury as he held a door open for his black-clad death squad to walk through.

"Woah," Peter said to himself, eyes slightly wider than they had been moments ago. He had no idea how many guys — or who — made up this little group, but it was well known that they were elite. And they were top-tier secret. And Peter was dying to know who they were. He edged closer to the grate, holding his breath as he watched them walk, his eyes narrowed as he consciously tried to take in all the little idiosyncrasies that they had. Like the way the biggest one lumbered along, and the next biggest one seemed more like he was marching. Or how the skinny guy acted almost like he was strutting. But the one he'd seen before — the one on the transport when he was with Natasha? He wasn't there, so it was hard to place anything about him when all he'd seen were some quick signs and a determined sort of 'mission mode' that he _knew_ wasn't the same as the usual walk.

Peter watched as they headed down the hall and into a room off to the side, then slowly backed up. He was bound and determined to mark how to get to this spot, but he knew he'd made a mistake somewhere along the line.

He checked his watch and had to cover his mouth to keep from being heard when he saw he was coming dangerously close to being late for his computer class. He turned and smiled to himself when he saw that at least for now, all he had to do was follow the cleaner trail in the vents … and brave a few climbs and slides, of course.

By the time he tumbled out of a grate on Tahiti's side, he was positively dusty and covered in webs — not that he noticed. He ran as quickly as he could to where their little hacking class was being held and nearly slid into the room — a small dust cloud coming off of him as he did so. He gave Skye a crooked smile and quick-stepped over to sit next to Kate.

"So," he said quietly, peeking up at Skye over the top of his computer monitor. "I just saw Weapon X … through the vents."

"They're in Tahiti?" Kate asked, turning his way quickly.

Peter smiled at her and quietly shook her head with a muffled sort of 'nuh-uh'.

Kate's eyes went wide, and she reached out to grab Peter's wrist. "Wait. _What_ ," she said, her voice coming out in a hiss of a whisper, getting Skye's attention again. Kate glanced Skye's way, then shook her head, but she didn't let go of Peter until Skye turned her attention away and started up teaching, leaving Kate open to whisper to Peter again. "You have to show me," she hissed out.

Peter nodded seriously. "Yeah, for sure," he agreed quickly. After all, Kate had done all that work charting out the map of the vents, so it was the least he could do… even if he _did_ enjoy knowing more than she did.

Neither of them paid very much attention to what was going on after that. Peter was freehand sketching what he remembered of how he'd gotten where he had in the vents — though, admittedly, that was harder to do when half the journey had been sliding and rushing and trying not to get bitten by any _more_ spiders…

… which reminded him… he really should probably have someone look at that spider bite and make sure it wasn't poisonous or something because it would _suck_ if he died just after becoming the Ferdinand Magellan of the Tahiti vents.

And Kate beside him wasn't doing that much better with the whole being-patient thing, if he was honest. She was jiggling her leg and almost bouncing up and down in her seat, and it was clear to everyone that saw her that she was _not_ paying attention to Skye.

At all.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of neither of them paying attention to anything but the fact that Peter's map was done and they were ready to go _explore_ , the class ended, and neither of them needed any more of an excuse before they were off like a shot.

After all, if they had a way to find out the secrets of the other side, they had to take advantage of this _now_ , before the SHIELD higher-ups figured it out and cut off their avenues.

The two of them were practically scrambling through the vents together, fueled by excitement and adrenaline… but by the time they got to where Peter had spotted the super secret ops team… no one was there. "Alright. But … this is where they were," Peter whispered. "They were with Fury. There were three of them … and I know who one of them is … but the other two I saw were not the same ones that I saw with the big guy in the plane, so there has to be four of them. Anyhow."

Kate nodded, her eyes wide as she took everything in. "Okay," she said. "We're gonna have to keep an eye on things."

Peter nodded, then couldn't help but grin. "So… think you could help me find Gwen?"

"That was what you were doing before, huh?"

"Uh, yeah."

Kate grinned and nodded. "Oh yeah. Noble cause. I'm so there," she promised, already leading the way back down the vents.

* * *

 _March 26_

 _Briefing Room in SHIELD Base One_

* * *

It was the first time in well over a month that Weapon X had been re-formed in its entirety. Until now, all of the members had been running smaller, faster missions individually or in pairs — and racking up massive damage to both the Captiol and to Hydra.

"I need you all to very carefully comb over your intel," Fury said as the four men settled in. "One of our best sources is in dire straights in the Capitol, and she needs us to get her out fast and clean." He looked over the four of them one by one as they all got into their intel. "No mistakes. No second chances."

The men all glanced up at him and nodded in turn before going right back to work while Fury outlined the basics. So far, nothing he'd said was anything they hadn't heard over and over already. "Janice Hollenbeck is in R&D. She's been watching that none of our tech turns up in their hands. She reported back last week that one of her own inventions has caught Thanos' eye. Find her and bring back both her and the device."

"Oooh, Damsel in distress," Creed almost purred as he smiled Logan's way. "If you weren't lettin' em die left and right, I'd say this was right up your alley, Runt." He began to chuckle to himself as Logan glared his way for an instant.

"Funny. Last damsel we tried to rescue died from you bein' sloppy," Logan countered before he went right back to his intel. Creed looked like he wanted to argue the point, but Fury intervened, redirecting them back to the task at hand with practiced ease.

"Again, the positions will be the same. Kestrel will handle exit strategy, Maverick will cover comms and flank, Sabretooth — as _always_ — you'll be slack to Wolverine's point," Fury ran down their expected tasks quickly as he watched Creed for any backtalk. When nothing more than the usual grumble came, he turned to Logan. "Make sure that you get that girl _out._ She doesn't have the training to hold out on an interrogation. She'll spill everything if you lose her."

Logan nodded and turned back to the section that covered the details on Janice Hollenbeck, the scientist in question that needed a lift. "You sure you want to put _him_ in charge of that?" Creed chuckled. Logan tried hard to ignore him, but with commentary like that … the jerk was asking for it. It was all he could do not to hit him like he wanted.

The dossier was all very cut and dried until he had to very nearly do a double-take at the small line of coded message along the edge of the woman's hair in the photo.

He checked it and double checked it as Fury concentrated on every other team member around him, hardly hearing what Fury was saying as he realized that it was finally time to drop Creed's dead weight. The code was Fury's way of letting him know — at last.

When he looked to his teammates, he very quickly realized that none of them had anything like he did in front of him — or if they did, their orders were something else entirely. Logan kept his eyes on Fury until the director tapped his left index finger on the table twice, light and fast. So he wasn't imagining things. He tipped his chin down minutely as soon as Creed turned his head toward Maverick.

"How's the road in?" Wraith asked. "Because last time _I_ checked, it was a major pain getting anywhere near the Capitol, let alone where you're askin' us to go."

Fury shook his head and explained, "Way in is easy. We have a few other missions that will be running concurrently, drawing attention from where you'll use to go in — and as far as radar goes, you'll be doing a high-altitude jump. Glider suits will get you in under their systems. Your checkpoint is a little over a mile out from your target. Any closer than that, you'd be spotted — regardless of how small you are as a target."

For the first time that Fury could remember, all four of them were uncharacteristically silent as they each went through their orders again. "I know it looks rough," Fury started to say.

"It's not just rough; it's crazy," Wraith said, cutting him short. "Nobody's pulled off anything this nuts before — and you expect all four of us to get there, get through, and come back too?" He shook his head in disbelief. "You went and lost your mind, Fury."

"I'll keep your opinion in consideration," Fury replied dryly. "Now, if you ladies are done — your window is not unlimited."

At that, the crew tossed their files back to Fury, who promptly threw them all into a fire system under his desk as they headed out to suit up.

* * *

 _SHIELD Briefing Room_

* * *

Usually, Coulson or Hill handled the briefings, so the members of Team Awesome were more than a little surprised when, instead, they were greeted by none other than the director himself when they came into the room — and Peter found himself sitting up a little straighter and listening with that much more attention, because this had to mean that it was something _good_ , didn't it? It totally meant something good.

Though ... maybe it wasn't that much of a surprise, considering how _many_ teams were going out on this particular mission. It seemed like just about everybody who was trained for any kind of heat was going out, and there were even enough simultaneous briefings that Peter's team, this time, was briefing on the other side of SHIELD. With masks all the way, of course. But it was a matter of logistics, and Peter was thrilled to be on _this_ side of things without the spiders that seemed to be attracted to him like they'd heard about his codename and wanted vengeance or something.

Which meant Peter was a little distracted once the briefing began when he saw the team pass by the glass windows of the room — he could see out, but no one could see in. And he recognized the uniforms of Weapon X team.

Nobody knew anything about that team. Well… that wasn't true. Everybody knew little bits and pieces. Like they'd saved Peter Quill from the Capitol and let him borrow a uniform as long as he strutted. And they were elite enough that the Capitol was afraid of them, even if the Capitol wouldn't admit it.

They were good, and no one knew who they were. Tony was working on it, but Peter was sure he could figure out the other three that he wasn't sure of if he thought it over long enough.

The fact that they had a giant on their team was a dead giveaway, for one thing. That wasn't an easy thing to miss, and there were only so many people who were seven feet tall and looked like they could eat a building if they set their minds to it. Peter had his suspicions about that guy, especially after sitting across from him on that pick up mission so long ago.

And he was pretty sure he was right when he saw the blonde ponytail poking out of the guy's uniform. There was no one else that big with that stupid of a haircut… it _had_ to be Victor Creed.

Which… kind of made sense, he supposed. If they were going to scare the Capitol, Creed was certainly good for scare factor. He scared everybody. He was an equal opportunity scare-er.

Peter's leg was bouncing the slightest bit, and as he watched the team pass by, one of the guys peeled off a glove for a scanner at the armory door. He could figure out the rest. He _would_.

There was the tall, muscular military guy… a slightly shorter lanky one that looked way too relaxed for anyone on a team like that… and then….

A very stocky. Very _short_ guy. And Peter ... well. He could only think of one person in the world that short and muscular at the same time. The walk even looked familiar, the determined sort of prowl that Logan did…. But he couldn't be working with _Victor Creed_ , could he? Not after everything that had happened… But then there was the footage of Ronan to consider with the three slash marks that SHIELD hadn't even tried to say wasn't Logan's doing …

Peter was so caught up in his thoughts that he missed most of what Fury had said until he heard "checkpoint," and Weapon X stepped through the armory door and out of his sight.

Peter's head swiveled, and he turned toward the director. "Wait — what?"

Fury looked irritated for a moment. "I _said:_ your team is going to keep the path clear for our mission tonight. As long as all goes well, you'll only need to take out counter forces while the team makes their escape from their final checkpoint."

"Is this a Weapon X mission?" he blurted out, earning himself looks from not only Fury but Kate and Kurt.

But Kurt — _good old Kurt_ — was there to back Peter up when Fury looked annoyed by the question. "It _sounds_ like a Weapon X mission," he reasoned. "So we should know, in order to gauge how dangerous this is."

"You should always be bringing your 'A' game to my missions," Fury said as he looked between the three of them for a long moment before he simply nodded. "Alright, yes. You'll be providing that team cover — along with three other teams. You will _not_ be in the group closest to the action, nor will you be handling the actual extraction. Your _only_ job is to provide cover, and you'll be pulled as soon as your job is done. Or is that too heavy for you?" he asked, glaring Peter's way.

Both Kate and Kurt glanced at each other, but Peter already had his answer. "Nope. I'm good. Let's go," he said as he slapped his hands on his thighs. He got a couple strange looks from his teammates for it, but it was all he could do to rein in his excitement.

"The purpose of the team's mission is top secret, but your timing will be critical," Fury said, his tone slightly more suspicious than before as he watched the group of them. "So you'll be monitoring the mission on a closed channel. You will be sworn to secrecy, or I'll personally sew your mouths shut and break your fingers. Am I clear?"

Kate winced at the threat and sat on her hands as Peter nodded seriously, zipping his thumb across his mouth to do a schoolboy impression of a lock and key.

As soon as the group of them had been dismissed from the briefing room, though, Kurt had to ask, "What's gotten into you, Peter?"

But Peter looked over both shoulders to make sure they were alone before he leaned in close enough to nearly knock both of them in the heads. "Logan's in Weapon X," he said. "And so is Creed."

"No," Kate said quickly, sounding angry as she shrugged Peter's hand off her shoulder. "No, he's not." When both boys glanced her way curiously, she crossed her arms over her chest. "He's _not_. I don't know who told you that, but there's no way he'd be on a team with Creed." She seemed to struggle to keep her composure as she added, "Not after what Creed _did_."

Peter frowned, knowing that she had a point. After all, they had all seen the footage from the Games after they were over and knew what had been said. Especially what had been said about _Kate._ But it wasn't going to change the fact that he knew what he did. "Yeah, but I have facts on my side."

"No," Kate said, shaking her head.

"No, really," Peter said. "See … it was Creed in that mission I went on with Natasha. And I was watching them while you guys were paying attention to Fury. I'm telling you — nobody else in the world is that short and all … grumpy muscles. And besides ... Ronan? That was an elite team that went into the palace. It has to be Logan that redecorated his face. Not to mention the fact that nobody is a giant wall of muscles like Creed." He let out a breath. "Sorry, Kate, but ... it's them."

Kate's mouth opened and closed wordlessly before, with a huff, she crossed her arms. "You're wrong."

Kurt put a hand on her arm and looked sympathetic for a moment before he turned his attention to Peter. "Are you sure?"

Kate frowned. "Kurt—"

Kurt shook his head and held up a hand to stop her incoming argument. "Have you ever known him to be wrong about something _this_ important?"

Kate glared at him for a second before she simply had to shake her head, which Peter couldn't help but take as a small victory.

"So what do we do about it?" Peter asked, looking between his two friends with wide eyes.

Kate narrowed her eyes and touched the quiver strapped over her shoulder. "About Creed?"

Kurt caught her gaze and shook his head quietly, but she didn't lower her hands. He sighed, squeezed her arm, and then turned to Peter. "We watch out for Logan. Like we always do."


	35. Careful What You Wish For

**Chapter 35: Careful What You Wish For**

…..

 _Harry Tabeshaw's Plane_

 _Somewhere close to Capitol Airspace_

… _.._

The Weapon X team was locked, loaded, and ready to go — though any of their usual pre-mission ribbing was decidedly less enthusiastic than any other mission they'd run.

"You boys have ten minutes until we hit the drop zone," Harry called back. "Sorry to say, I'm not gonna be picking you up — because I'll probably still be hauling ass outta here."

Logan had to smirk at him for that. Harry was an amazing pilot, but he liked to keep his planes in one piece, and that was hard to do when fighting the Capitol.

"You ready for this?" Maverick asked as the men on the team re-checked the straps and chutes one last time.

"Sure," Logan replied distractedly. "Gotta get it done, right? Can't leave the girl for Ronan to play with."

The four of them lined up, ready to jump — Wraith was first in line, followed by Logan, then Creed, and finally Maverick. "We're at the drop zone," Harry said — though with the wind roaring outside the plane, they all only heard it through their earpieces as Harry informed them of their position, and the director gave them the signal.

"On my mark." Fury's voice came through deep and calming, as if they weren't about to do what had to be the stupidest thing Logan could have ever concocted. He started his countdown, and it was clear that all of them were nervous by the looks on their faces. "Good luck," Fury said — and that was enough to have all of them straighten up. Fury didn't wish anyone luck unless it was incredibly bad.

But ... on his word, they jumped all the same.

Wraith went out first, and as Logan was doing the quick count in his head, Creed simply shoved him out of the plane.

It took Logan a few moments to find some stability; between the wash of the plane and the way that Creed had pushed him out, it wasn't a simple matter of extending his arms and levelling out. But soon enough, he did just that, and all he had to do was simply keep a close watch on Kestrel's beacon — and pull the ripcord when the time was right.

* * *

Kate was sitting on the transport with her bow in her lap, running her hands over the bow and looking so close to murderous that even Peter was a little nervous of her, though Kurt was sitting so close to her that Peter was amazed they even fit in that amount of space.

Peter was surprised to see that Kate looked… _jumpy_. But while they were waiting in the silence, Kurt kept whispering something in Kate's ear, and she finally broke into a giggle.

"Okay, K-squared. I thought I told you about flirting on a mission," Peter said.

Kate and Kurt both gave him a _look_ , and he grinned and quieted down. He was never, ever going to get tired of that, especially since he _called it_.

It felt like an age and a half to wait, and despite the fact that Skye assured them on her end that they were all hooked up, everything was just… quiet.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Kate said, "They're not fighting each other."

It was such a surprising thing to say out of the blue that Peter had to turn to face her. "Huh?"

"If it _was_ Logan and Creed — which it's not — but if it was, they'd be fighting each other," Kate explained. "That's why you're wrong."

"Except I'm not, Kate," Peter said. "You'll see."

* * *

 _Checkpoint Alpha_

 _Capitol Airspace_

* * *

The landing was textbook, and the Weapon X team all rushed to hide the chutes and slip out of their glider suits. Logan had never been so relieved to be on the hard ground, though that relief wasn't exactly enough to help much when it was painfully clear that the Capitol did indeed have a very heavy presence.

"Checkpoint Alpha, Kestrel. Everyone's grounded," Wraith said low as he finished jamming his chute into the glider suit. The others were doing the same and watching for any sign that they'd been spotted.

"Going to need it from everyone," Fury replied. The team shared a look — he'd never required it before. There was a slight pause before they did as they were told, while double-checking their weaponry.

"Maverick."

"Sabretooth."

"Wolverine."

* * *

Kate's eyes widened, and Kurt yelped slightly when she held his hands too tightly. She had gone sort of quiet, though Peter couldn't help a muttered, "Told you so."

When Kate finally released Kurt's hands, it was to start pacing, and Kurt looked like he was about five seconds from joining her.

Peter watched his two friends for a moment and let out his breath. This was going to be a _long_ mission.

* * *

 _Capitol-Controlled Triskellion_

* * *

The path to the Triskellion was not at all what Logan remembered it to be, but the group made their way very carefully around all of the various buildings and guard towers. They silently stalked through the streets at not quite their usual speed.

They slipped past at least six layers of patrols without a hitch, unless you counted Creed breathing down Logan's back every step of the way. That was wearing — and knowing what the orders were, it only had Logan that much readier for the end of the mission.

They were maybe seven or eight blocks from the Triskellion when Kestrel gave them a little wave and disappeared down some alleyway in the darkness. The three remaining members had to slip into a dark corner of their own — a nifty trick, considering their bulk. They hid behind a dumpster as the patrol passed them by, marching in steps that echoed the streets, though they stopped not far from where the team was hiding, apparently to stretch and take a short break.

"We've only got two hours before security protocol is lifted or doubled. I know that there was a ping on radar, but come on. I'm hoping this was just another false alarm," one guard said. "It's too cold out here to mess around with this crap."

"I don't think so. At least not this time," the other replied. "They did shoot at that plane."

"Yeah, but who's to say that the rebels didn't go down with it? It was miles off."

"Well … we'll know when we hear back from the recovery crew." Footsteps echoed down the street as the two man guard detail disappeared.

"Ain't got much time," Creed growled out.

"No shit," Logan replied as he poked his nose around the corner and pushed hard to get them to the Triskellion faster.

* * *

"And you're sure Fury's not going to notice?" Kate asked over the connection Skye had set up with their team.

"Please. You act like this is my first encoded broadcast," Skye said, her tone clearly dismissive.

Kate, Kurt, and Peter all grinned at each other. "Perfect," Kate said with a decisive little nod. "And it won't interfere with their radio?"

"Seriously, Kate. Stop doubting me," Skye said. "I can get you all hooked up and able to listen to everything you need. Fury won't know unless you act on what you hear. Which you _should not do_ , or we're all in trouble."

"No promises if we find out _Logan's_ in trouble too," Kate said.

"Oh, well, _that_ is totally different," Skye said. "If he's in trouble, I'll get on a plane myself."

* * *

 _Triskellion_

* * *

There was one guard on duty outside of the floor that housed the labs that Weapon X was headed into. And he was clearly not doing his job. He was lounging, bouncing a ball off the wall across from him while a bank of cameras monitored various places in the general vicinity. Logan began to step out when Creed stepped around him and rushed the guy.

The guard fell off his stool when he saw Sabretooth approaching fast, but before he could reach for his radio, a loud crack echoed the hall, and Creed dropped the body at his feet — the guard's neck broken. Creed grinned as they took the guard's key card to open the doors to the labs.

After that, it didn't take long to find Miss Hollenbeck. Janice was awake and ready to leave when they broke open her door.

"Oh, thank God," she said with a tremor to her voice. "I thought Fury wouldn't come for me."

"Quiet, girl," Creed half barked. "We ain't outta the woods yet."

"Oh, of course not," she said, hustling as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and Maverick pulled her between himself and Creed.

"Stay close; don't make a noise," Maverick directed, and a moment later, Logan led the charge out. The speed at which the team moved was much faster than Janice was expecting, and she had to nearly run to keep up, even with Maverick pushing her through the halls.

* * *

"Guard Seventeen is missing from his post. Send three men to the holding cells. We don't need a breakout."

Kate, Kurt, and Peter were listening intently to the radio as Skye patched them through to the Team X communications.

"You did say you wanted to know what was happening, right?" Skye asked in a smug sort of tone.

It was the first news the three of them had heard since they heard Logan's voice over the airwaves, and Kate felt her gut twisting in about five hundred different ways. But beside her, Kurt's shoulders relaxed, and he heaved a gentle sigh. "Well," he said quietly, "at least the Capitol doesn't know where Weapon X is going. That's a good thing."

Peter, who seemed to look progressively paler with each passing second, nodded, his lips pressed tightly together.

"This is so much worse knowing who it is we're waiting for," Kate announced, and her boys turned to look at her. She shook her head. "What? We're all thinking it."

"I thought you were thinking about all the ways it can't possibly be Logan out there," Peter said, and some of the color came back to his face when he was teasing her.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Weapon X is elite," Kurt said. "Even if we don't agree with the team's ... makeup ... we know they can handle themselves." But he sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well.

Peter looked down at his shoes. "Kate's right. This was much easier when we didn't know it was Wonder Midget out there."

Kate and Kurt both turned to give Peter the raised-eyebrow look, but an alarm blared over the communications, and Kurt actually beat Kate to the front of their craft to see what it was. As his gaze poured over the readout on the screen, Kate saw his hand tighten, his knuckles go white. She reached out for his hand and laced her fingers through his as gunfire echoed through the radio.

"No, not that way. You can't get out that way!" came a woman's voice over the radio. "That way has traps — we can't leave that way!"

"Who's that?" Kate asked Peter.

Peter shook his head. "No idea."

"And I thought you were the one with all the answers."

"Only most of the answers, Kate. Only most of them." Peter turned a little paler again as more gunshots echoed in their ears. Kate realized she couldn't feel her fingers anymore and pulled them out of Kurt's grip. She wasn't sure if she or he had been doing all that terrified squeezing, so she didn't say anything about it, but she kind of needed her hands if she was going to be any use later.

Voices echoed over the radio, along with a woman's scream as the gunfire drowned out the words that were being spoken.

"Sounds like things aren't going according to plan," Kurt said, his voice slightly strained. He was pacing quietly, taking Kate's place where she had been pacing earlier.

This was so much worse than any other mission, because if this was a mission pre-knowing-it-was-Logan, they could have been joking around and messing with each other, but no, Peter had to go and be curious, and … who was she kidding. Kate was glad she knew. Better to know now than to find out after he was dead. At least now, she had a shot at having his back.

"Do they ever?" Kate joked lightly, but her heart wasn't in it, especially when she could hear gunfire over the other end.

"Did you get the package?" Fury's voice shouted over the relay as gunfire overpowered all communications through both radio feeds.

"Yeah, we got the damn package! Helluva lotta good it does when our exit's shot," said a crackling voice over the comm, though they couldn't tell quite who it was. "The lower hall was full of some damned _giant hornet mutts_. They're using poison gas and freakin' engineered _mutts, Fury!_ "

Kate reached for an arrow and had her bow strung before she was even thinking about it, and when she looked over at Kurt and Peter, they were right behind her, nodding.

"All secondaries are blocked off," Mavericks voice rumbled. "We're out of options. They've got us trapped."

It was so quiet in the transport that she could hear Kurt and Peter breathing beside her.

"Get creative!" Fury advised. "That's the whole damn reason your point man is even there — _make it work!_ " For a few agonizing moments, nothing but gunfire and shouted commands to surrender echoed through the feed as they all collectively held their breath.

"He says we're gonna have to jump." That was Kestrel.

"Jump?" Kurt repeated, rushing back to the console.

"There's a third story window," Skye said from the other end as she was working to pull up the maps on her side of the mission. "Concrete below it."

"Third story?" Peter repeated, his voice cracking slightly.

Then, Fury's voice came over the line. "The suits are designed to withstand the impact. Just do it."

"What about Janice? No way can she live through that landing," Logan pointed out over the roaring of more gunfire.

For some reason, Kate found herself grinning, and when she caught Kurt looking at her, she realized he had the exact same grin. Peter saw them and blinked twice, slowly. "What are you two grinning about?"

But before Kate or Kurt could explain that, well, it was nice to know that some things about Logan (like rescuing damsels in distress) never changed, there were two gunshots in quick succession, and then a whole lot of shouting and the sound of breaking glass.

"Goddamnit, Creed! What the hell did you do!?" Logan snarled. The gunfire was broken up by the muted sound of fists hitting flesh and fabric rustling.

"Codenames!" Fury shouted.

"Screw your flamin' codenames!"

" _I_ was just makin' sure the mission's a success, Runt. She was dead anyhow. Like you said - she'd never make the jump. Leavin' her behind would 'ave been a way for them to find other moles, an' I sure as hell ain't givin' up cause 'a some skirt."

"You worthless, rotten sonofabitch! She was half the flamin' mission! What the hell are you smilin' over — you sick, twisted sack o'—"

"Hey, Pete?" Kate called out as Logan continued snarling and the sound of fists hitting flesh continued to make its way through the comms.

Peter looked up.

"I believe you now."

"Yeah?" He gave her a strangely strained but still lopsided grin. "What tipped the scales in my favor?"

"They started arguing." Kate smiled in grim satisfaction as she heard Creed and Logan trade what-fors, but when a communication came through the _authorized_ channel from Fury, she almost forgot to respond.

"Bishop. Your team ready to cover Weapon X's exit?"

Cursing the fact that she hadn't thought to set up some kind of signal Skye could give her for when it was a communication she was actually _supposed_ to hear, she coughed to cover her pause (she knew Fury probably wasn't buying it) and said, "Ready when they are."

Outside the Triskellion, the four men landed hard on the concrete, and every one of them got the wind knocked out of them. But still, Logan was more than ready to go back to beating on Creed. Before he could, though, Maverick pulled the youngest among them to his feet and didn't take his hand off his shoulder until it was clear that Logan had his head into getting the hell out of there first and foremost.

Logan was fuming. Positively fuming. He glanced to his right, and there was Creed, running alongside him as if nothing was wrong, a smirk plastered on his face while all hell broke loose around them and bullets exploded at their feet and ricocheted off their armor.

They barely managed to dodge behind a low wall as the heavy fire got heavier. Backs to the wall as the other side closed in, Logan caught sight of Creed as he chuckled.

"What now?" Logan asked as he glared at his former mentor and began to lead them away from the gunfire.

"Can't a guy enjoy his night out?" Creed half laughed as the sound of ricochets echoed around them. "Nothin' like gunfire to get ya to stretch yer legs."

"It ain't funny, Vic. None of us think it is," Kestrel said with some heat to his voice. "There was no good reason for you to eighty-six that girl."

"My reasons are my own, Wraith," Creed replied, but Logan glared at him as the pieces all fell into place while they waited for the patrol to find the need to reload their weapons.

"It was you," Logan breathed out once he put it together. For the first time, Creed's smile totally disappeared. "You're the been feedin' 'em just enough intel this whole time to cover your ass."

"You're paranoid," Creed scoffed, but he had gotten very antsy all of a sudden, and all of his sadistic joy had just … slipped away.

"I think the kid might be onto somethin'," Maverick agreed. "You were pushing to cancel the mission tonight. Why, Vic? Not like you to want to put off bloodshed — unless you're feeding information to the other side and knew you wouldn't have time to tip 'em off." Creed looked back at them and tried to tell them a little too late, and in a lot less convincing manner, that they were wrong. But the three of them glared at him silently, not the tiniest bit fooled by his half-hearted, two-bit cover.

"Fury," Kestrel said evenly. "What do you want us to do with this traitor?"

After a slight pause, Fury replied. "One of you already has orders."

Creed's eyes widened, and he shoved Logan hard into the other two before he darted out of their hiding place, arms up and shouting.

"They're over here! Three of 'em — the team you've been after for months — Weapon X, right here!" Creed shouted. Before Logan could finish cursing, they were running like hell the other way, dodging bullets and booking for their rendezvous.

* * *

"Kate, that was probably _expensive_."

Kate glared at Peter. "Good," she said through her teeth. It felt really good to put an arrow through something, and the equipment didn't look that important anyway. "He's trying to get Logan _killed_ ," she growled out.

"We heard," Kurt said, his hand on her arm, and when she turned to glare at him, she saw that he looked positively murderous, even moreso than when he'd heard that Skye had died.

"I doubt Fury wasn't onto Creed," Peter muttered quietly as their transport dropped in closer to do their job — and provide the cover they were supposed to provide anyway.

Kate frowned. "So why let Logan…"

"Come on, Kate," Kurt said, his voice whisper quiet, but his tone somehow as cutting as if he had been shouting. "You know why."

Kate narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Fury has _no right_ … no right to turn Creed loose, no right to ask Logan…" She spluttered for a moment, and Kurt put a hand on her shoulder.

"First thing's first," he said, the fury hiding just underneath his tone.

"Right." Kate shook off her frown for a moment and nodded. "Time to do what we do best."

"Property damage and jokes?" Peter shot back.

"Yes, and saving people," Kurt said.

"Oh, yeah, that too," Peter agreed.

The three of them stared down through the opening, counting the seconds, waiting for Skye's signal that they were close enough….

"Go get my guy," she said, before she switched to the official channels for the "go!" and all three of them jumped, rolling onto the ground to break their falls.

It was chaos the moment they hit the ground, and Kate glanced at her boys — and at Logan tearing things up just beyond them. "Just like old times," she said with a smirk.

"Only this time — we don't all die," Peter agreed.

* * *

The remaining members of Weapon X were more or less pinned down when the shooting died off. They didn't have much time to ponder the sudden lack of gunfire, though, as they found themselves surrounded by black-clad figures with _swords_ and chains …. And frikkin' throwing stars.

"I thought the ninjas were a rumor," Maverick said as they started shooting them and tried to dodge the throwing stars that were whipping past them.

"Why don't you tell that to them?" Wraith teased before Maverick threw a few grenades to make their exit.

"They're not. They're in Three all over the damn place," Logan grumbled. "Must breed like flamin' rabbits."

He'd barely gotten the words out of his mouth when three of the stars embedded themselves in Wraith's arm and side, but the bulk of the ninjas were dead or dying from the team's return fire, and their path was once again somewhat clear.

Once the gunfire opened up on the trio again, it was obvious that even though Creed hadn't been able to leak to them sooner — he'd done it now. Their exit path was flooded with enemies. But still, Logan had seen the way to make sure that they could skirt around the worst of it.

They were cursing their luck as they returned fire and ran. Five hundred yards from the rendezvous, Kestrel went down from a bullet to the knee. Maverick rushed back to him as Logan covered them. "I've got your cover — get him outta here. I'll be right behind you!" Logan shouted as he changed magazines. Maverick didn't argue, and Logan kept it up until he'd run out of ammo.

The firefight was heavy as Fury's forces tried to cover their retreat. It was close enough that not only could Logan hear the bullets whizzing past his head, but one had sliced his scalp as it grazed him in passing. The transport was in sight when the dirty traitor's voice echoed in the night air.

"Where ya goin', Runt?!" The raspy, dark voice seemed to echo around him, and he stopped and turned to see Victor Creed glaring at him. Logan tossed his empty rifle to the side as Creed approached, ready to finish up his mission — one way or another.

* * *

Kurt glanced up when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, but it was only Kate. Her hair was plastered to her face with sweat, and she was breathing heavily, but to his relief, she looked relatively unhurt, despite the Nova Corp and Capitol soldiers all around them. He was sweaty and tired himself, but he couldn't help but grin when he saw her.

"Hey, Kurt, have you got—"

He wordlessly tossed her the two extra quivers, and she beamed.

"Thanks, I was running low."

"At least you didn't run _out_ ," he said. He looked her over and couldn't help the worry as he asked, "Are you alright? How's Peter?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Pete's trying to talk the bad guys to death. You know how he is."

Over their earpieces, Peter cut in. "Are you two done flirting? Because if you stopped paying attention to each other, and paid attention to me instead, you'd notice that _one_ of us is cutting a beautiful, clear path to freedom for our guys."

Kate and Kurt grinned at each other, and Kate shook her hair out. "Come on, Peter. _We_ took out all the bad guys. You're just clearing the path we set up for you."

"Yeah, yeah, try and take my glory all you want, but we all know who the _real_ MVP is."

Kurt and Kate just grinned at each other before they fell into the easy pattern the two of them had established between them. Kate would shoot over Kurt's shoulder, Kurt would stab anyone who got too close — they worked perfectly in tandem, no words necessary. They were _good_.

After a while of fighting like that, Kate said suddenly, "Pete's headed back to the transport."

"Covering the exit," Kurt nodded. "We should—"

"Nightcrawler. Hawkeye. Switch on your secondary comms."

Kurt and Kate both jumped into immediate concern when they heard the tone of near _panic_ to Skye's voice, and both of them switched over — just in time to hear Creed's voice on the other end.

* * *

Fury was shouting angrily in Logan's earpiece to stand down — "Your orders have changed — let him walk! Do not engage! We have Kestrel and Maverick — they say they have the device — _disengage and get. On. the damn transport!"_

But all the crimes that Creed had committed echoed in Logan's ears as he squared off with him. Not to mention that Creed still had secrets to share with the enemy — including the fact that Creed knew the base's location. "You're breaking up," Logan said flatly.

As Fury's insistent bark in his ear got louder and more desperate, totally dropping his professionalism as he tried to stop him. In response, Logan simply ripped the earwig out and threw it to the ground before he and Creed began to circle each other.

"Guess I get to kill ya after all." Creed nearly purred the words out, clearly relishing every syllable.

"Bring it."

* * *

Kurt didn't even need to look over at Kate to know she was right behind him as they both raced forward, listening to Fury's angry shouts for Logan to stand down and get to safety — even though they all knew that just wasn't going to happen.

"Whose _stupid idea_ was it to put Logan and Creed on the same team?" Kate muttered angrily as she put an arrow in both eyes of a soldier who looked like he might try to stop them.

Kurt narrowed his eyes but kept his mouth shut. When he got back to base, he and Fury would be having _words_. But for now, there was something more important to focus on — they had to get to Logan.

But by that point, the fact that they'd broken formation had caught Fury's attention, and they could both hear Fury on their primary comms, sounding like he was about to spit fire. "Bishop. Wagner. Where do you two think you're going?"

"Take a guess, director," Kate replied, her tone cold as ice, as Kurt didn't trust himself to speak without simply tearing into the man for playing with fire with his best friend.

"How the hell did you — _Stand down!_ You two are not authorized—"

"Shove it up your ear," Kate said, then switched to call Peter, turning off the connection to Fury.

Kurt got the earful that was meant for Kate, while Peter got orders from Kate: "Do _not_ let that transport leave without us," she said as they ran toward Logan's last location.

There was a pause on the other end and what sounded like a muffled argument. Then, Peter's voice came back. "Can't do anything about this one," Peter said. "But give me a second… Oh man, I'm about to do something stupid…"

Kurt paused, his head coming up at the proclamation. "Wait a minute—"

But then there was the sound of crashing and grunting, and when Peter's voice rang out again, he sounded slightly strained. "Jumping out of moving transports is no fun. In case you were wondering."

"You okay?" Kate asked.

"I'll be fine. I can see a transport. I'll stall; you two go get Mutton Chops."

* * *

The long overdue fight went from near stillness to a frenzied rush. The two men had finally quit circling, and Creed broke pattern first — only to be met by Logan as he took a quick step forward on his left, then jumped as he threw every ounce he had into a one-two combination that sent Creed reeling backward a few steps as his opener.

From there, Logan just kept going. Even as Creed tried to hit him back, Logan was flat out pounding him as hard as he could in the head and neck, and Creed was backing up, bit by bit.

All at once, Creed stumbled and turned to get away from Logan, but that only ended up with Logan rushing him and climbing _on_ his back to keep pounding him in the head. The hits were good enough that Creed went from a stumble to all fours — just trying to keep himself from going entirely to the ground.

Creed tried to turn the tide by pushing back hard with all he had to smash Logan into a nearby tree, and to Logan's credit, he wasn't going to give up that easily. As Creed bashed him backward, Logan reasserted his grip, arms and legs, almost as if he was getting a piggyback ride — with one arm wrapped around Creed's throat and the other hauling on his own wrist to try and choke him out even as Creed kept trying to bash him.

Using one of Logan's own tricks, Creed leaned forward and then threw his head backward fast — bashing Logan in the face and loosening his grip on Creed's throat. A couple more quick head butts like that had Logan reeling, and Creed threw an elbow back into Logan's stomach, knocking the wind out of him quickly and breaking Logan's grip.

As Creed got into place to start pounding on Logan, the smaller man managed to knock his feet out from under Creed— and a moment later, the two of them were grappling for supremacy.

The two men retreated enough to get to their feet, and panting, they went back to it bare-fisted.

Both sides were throwing their all into it, grunting with nearly every punch thrown. The sound of fists hitting flesh echoed the area around them with a dull thud, along with the occasional muted crack when a head shot was made.

Finally, Logan ended up miscalculating a hair, and Creed nailed him with a left hook that sent him sprawling. With a swift kick, several of Logan's ribs broke under Creed's boot, followed closely by the monster himself climbing on top of him. Victor grabbed his old protege by the ears, and, with a sneer, he bashed Logan's head against the ground before he went right into pounding on him.

Anyone watching could see that he meant to simply beat the life out of Logan.

But Logan wasn't going to just take it.

As Creed worked him over, his hand drifted down, and Victor laughed, thinking that Logan was trying to find a way to dislodge him. But Logan knew there was no way he'd be able to simply toss anyone that much bigger. Instead, he found and pulled Creed's own knife from his boot and stabbed down directly between Creed's legs.

With a tremendous roar, Creed balled up his fist and backhanded Logan under him before he switched tactics and simply started choking him out. Logan was reaching, trying to push him off, and when it didn't work out, he raised his arm to Creed's side to try and pop his claws. But the angle just wasn't right and he couldn't manage it.

* * *

Kate and Kurt were running as fast as they could — but Kurt could see that they wouldn't get there fast enough.

"No," he whispered, the sound torn from him as he put his every effort into running faster, but he was so far away… if he could have blinked himself across the distance, he could have made it...

There was an echoing _twang_ , and Kurt spun to see that Kate had dropped to one knee. The string of her bow was still moving with the force of the arrows, and she had a grim sort of smile painted over her face. She let out a little huff of satisfaction and then, slowly, stood up. She reached up to pull the mask off of her head and let her hair fall out as she glanced at Kurt.

He had already done the same — they must have had the same thought in that moment. They were going to rescue Logan; and they weren't going to let something like protocol mask their reintroduction to their old friend.

No, he was _going_ to see their faces. They were done sneaking around.

* * *

When Logan got his wits about him, he looked to Creed, who had paused in the beating, glaring – looking for the archer that had done him such damage and momentarily forgetting that he was in the middle of choking the life out of Logan. Not that Logan was complaining at the time.

Both of them took a few moments to catch their breath. Logan simply trying to breathe while Creed searched the dark around them for the offending forces. When Creed twisted just a bit, Logan put all of his effort into throwing Creed off of him and gaining some space between then. It wasn't until then that he realized that Creed couldn't stand. Not with the damage he'd sustained. Both of them were in bad shape.

Logan didn't think about his next steps. He knew what had to be done. Logan staggered around Creed and picked up a katana he'd spotted on the ground nearby. The ninjas that Thanos had employed had proven to be a hiccup, but at least one of their swords would come in handy.

As he readied the blade, Creed glared up at him, his hand clamped over the open knife wound that he couldn't quite stop from bleeding. "Got anything to say for yourself?" Logan asked.

Creed just huffed. "What are you waiting for?" he whispered. "Do it."

Logan didn't hesitate a moment longer, and with a scowl, he drew the sword back — but he didn't get to bring it down before the report of a rifle echoed the landscape, and the sword clattered to the ground from Logan's numb hands.

Creed started to chuckle on seeing Logan's expression. "Those armor piercing rounds're a bitch, aren't they, fireplug?"

Another shot hit Logan, and he recognized the sharp pain that bloomed from his chest. Two more shots echoed in the overly quiet landscape, but only one hit him — and a low and a burning sensation joined the sharp pain as Creed smiled ever wider nearby.

The next thing Logan knew, he was on the ground again, his arm across his bleeding stomach and his feet under him as he tried to breathe. He knew he was an easy target now. He wasn't even moving and he knew the killing shot was coming. But he didn't try to avoid it. In fact, he was trying to make it easier. He angled his body toward where the shots had come, did his best to straighten up, and waited with his palms flat on his thighs. .

"Wish I could say it's been fun," Creed rasped out from somewhere behind him as the sound of Creed dragging his worthless carcass away reached Logan's ears. But Logan really couldn't care what the monster was up to. Not when he knew he had a sniper on him — and he'd failed his mission all the way around. It was fine though. Fury had to have a back up. He always had a back up.

Logan decided he'd give their sniper a steady target so they could pop him in the head and be done with it. But it was getting harder and harder to stay upright and still as he gasped for air, and no shots followed. _Come on_ , Logan thought to himself as he searched the darkness around him. _I'm ready._ He closed his eyes and bowed his head, waiting for the inevitable and considering finishing the job himself with the claws if they were going to be inept about it. He heard an odd twanging sound, but beyond that… nothing but the din of the fight around him.

Logan finally heard the sound of running footfalls and looked up to see that Kate and Kurt were headed his way fast, Kurt with his sword and Kate with her bow.

He watched their approach passively, not believing at all what he was seeing, convinced that it was further proof that he'd finally reached the end as his hearing started to fade out and the edges of his vision started to darken.

He coughed and looked down at his hand to see a glob of blood that had landed there, and he tried to take a shuddering breath as he started to slump forward. Before he could hit the dirt face-down, though, Kurt was there, nearly on his knees as he tried to hold him up. Without thinking, Logan wrapped an arm around him in as much of an embrace as he could manage as he sputtered. He could hardly get the air to choke out the apology.

"M'sorry, Elf," he barely breathed out, almost too quietly to be heard. "Didn't mean to—"

Kurt ignored the apology entirely as Logan clutched to him. His eyes were shining. "You can't die now, _mein Freund_ ," he said. "Not when there's whiskey to be drunk and Nova Corp to be stabbed."

"You're … wrong," Logan gasped. He made a rough attempt at a laugh that ended in more blood erupting from his nose, and he closed his eyes, too tired to try to hold himself upright.

"He's never wrong, you idiot," Kate told him sternly, though both she and Kurt looked downright concerned right up until the moment Peter caught up to them, rushing in to help Kurt get Logan to his feet so they could get him moving whether or not he was helping — with Kate covering their exit despite the fact that she looked like she might burst into tears at how the reunion was going thus far.

When they hit the transport, several of the medics rushed in to pull the three friends apart, though the Team Awesome kids could tell it was bad from the looks on their faces.

"This guy isn't going to make it back to base," one of them said dismissively after they cut off his shirt and removed the armor for a quick exam. But Simmons wasn't having any of it as she joined the medical effort.

"He's drowning in his own blood," she commented before pushing the first medic out of the way and going to work on the pale, gasping victor. She quickly put Fitz's engineered magnets on Logan's wrists before she got going properly.

Blood had splattered the inside of the oxygen mask they'd slipped on Logan's face already. She laid him flat on the ground, and after a quick listen to his breathing, and frowning hard at the bullet wounds, she pulled one arm over his head and knelt on it as she counted her way up his rib cage. "This is going to hurt," she warned as she looked down at Logan.

Kate and Kurt shared a look as their wounded ally stared blankly ahead seconds before Simmons jammed a scalpel between his ribs, apologizing profusely the entire time.

Kate screeched out in protest, and Pete seemed to appear out of nowhere to hold her back as Logan's eyes widened in pain and he let out a noise that Kate was sure would haunt her, but as soon as the tube was jammed into the wound, blood began to pour from it, and almost immediately he wasn't gasping quite as badly as his breaths deepened.

Simmons cleaned the foamy blood out of his nose and mouth and replaced the bloodied mask with a clean one. Logan turned to look at the three friends as Simmons started to address them rather than her patient.

"He should at _least_ make it to the operating room now," she told them as she began to clean him up and put pressure on the open bullet wounds. "But I can't promise anything."

Logan's breath rattled in his chest, even with the oxygen he was getting. His eyes looked glazed over — that which wasn't swollen. Kurt took the initiative and helped to move him, while Pete helped Kate cover their exit, and they quickly loaded up in the transport. Hardly anyone seemed to breathe until they got up in the air.

Kurt knelt down beside his friend, one hand on Logan's arm as he continued to speak in low tones, trying to encourage him into health. "Don't go, Logan. We need you here," he whispered out, though his only answer was a rougher, raspier breath as Logan gasped for air.

"Can't you fly this stupid thing any faster?" Kate barked out, and Logan seemed to blink her way, trying to concentrate on her, but he just couldn't do it, and his eyes slipped closed all the same.


	36. As Seen on Television

**Chapter 36: As Seen on Television**

The flight back to base was rough. Their pilot was good, but Logan kept fading in and out of consciousness, unable to focus on anything if the way his eyes and head were rolling when he had his eyes open were any indicator.

As they approached the base, Simmons was fretting over him, ready to intervene as Logan's gasping increased and his eyes closed again. The friends shared a worried look as his vitals became very irregular, but after a couple injections, and a stern talking to from Simmons, Logan seemed to be holding his own again — though he did not wake up. Simmons radioed in for him — pushing past the usual protocols to request an OR be ready to go on their arrival for multiple gunshot wounds, and a pneumothorax — a term that got Peter to sit up a bit straighter and stare at Logan with his brows drawn together. The three friends shared a nervous glance as the medical team obsessively watched his monitors and checked his blood pressure. They looked as nervous as Kate did.

On landing, medical was not only ready and waiting — but rushing, mobbing the transport as the door opened. The Awesome kids were pushed back as they took Logan and Simmons out of the transport and Simmons shouted out what his status was all the way down to the surgical suite in a far more commanding tone than anyone in attendance could have imagined from her.

The kids had to stop where they couldn't follow Logan any further, and all three of them looked distressed as Kate tried her best not to cry and Kurt was looking _livid_. But his tone was incredibly soft as he whispered Kate's way, "Don't worry, _liebling_. He's too stubborn to die so easily."

As the kids waited outside the operating room, Fury himself stalked in, looking incredibly angry and concerned as he started pacing. He looked ready to fight anyone that crossed him — and no one even tried to find out what his problem was until Coulson called out to him.

"Sir," Coulson said. "I'm pretty sure whatever you might need from a debrief is going to have to wait."

Fury looked ready to spit fire as he turned Coulson's way. "That team — those docs _can't_ screw this up," he replied, his tone deadly serious. "Because if they do..." He paused and glanced toward the operating room doors. "We don't have everything we need to reverse it."

"Oh yes we will," Kurt said, turning to face Fury with a look of, well, fury. "If we have to get it ourselves, we _will_."

"You're not in a high enough ranking team to get in and out without ending up dead or in the medical wing yourself," Fury replied. "Eleven is _hot."_ He looked around the group of them. "I'm not risking you."

"That's Logan in there," Kurt replied, his tone still heated as he gestured toward the closed doors. "Whatever is in Eleven, it can't stop me."

Fury glared at him for a moment. "I'm not sending you to Eleven," he said evenly. "But … we should be able to scrape up a team that _can_ go." He let his voice temper slightly. "You should be _here._ "

That did at least seem to get Kurt to pause for a moment, though he still looked thunderous.

"Coulson, ask Wilson, Romanoff, Barton, and Cage if they're up for a run. Just to be safe." Fury turned to Peter and Kate. "Or am I wrong that you'd want to be here if this surgery doesn't go well?"

The three friends glanced at each other before Peter was the one to speak up. "Well, yeah…"

"Then stay close. Even if the team makes it to Eleven, there's no guarantee they can even get the materials." He turned to Kate. " _That_ is why I was _trying_ to get him to stand down."

"You didn't try real hard until the very end, _director_ ," she said with heat to her gaze.

"I tried more than you realize. You don't know all of the little codes and phrases we have between us," Fury countered.

"No, but I know enough to tell you you're a _moron_ if you think you could stop Logan from killing Creed when he had half a chance," Kate countered, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Those two have been on a team together for about a year." Fury gave her a dry look. "He's had plenty of chances."

"Not when Creed was blatantly betraying the team… come _on_. You _had_ to know that was crooked."

Fury nodded. "Logan had gotten the green light to put an end to Victor Creed," he admitted. "I was trying to call him off. Creed had back up we didn't know about until it was too late."

"Great spywork, Fury. Really impressive," Kate said, matching his dry tone from earlier.

The two of them looked ready to escalate when Coulson broke in. "I have my team ready to go. If you can quit … sniping with my Tahiti agents, that'd be great." Coulson gave the three kids a look before he and Fury stepped out of the room. Once they were in the hall, away from them, Coulson laid it out. "Either way this goes? When he wakes up — _when._ Not if. When he opens his eyes, he's in my side of the building and he's staying there. Any further missions if and when he's ready to run them — they'll be his call."

"I'll be back to see how he comes through this," Fury said. "But Coulson, I'm honestly hoping he doesn't need the vibranium. I'll be close by." With that, Fury simply left, and Coulson had to let out a breath before he stepped back into the room where the three friends were waiting.

"They're on their way to Eleven already," Coulson told the gathered group. "I had them prepped to go when Simmons called in saying there was big trouble."

"He won't need it," Kurt said in a tone that had much less heat than the one she'd been using with Fury only moments before.

"I hope you're right," Coulson agreed. "If he pulls through on his own, it'll be a slower recovery, but much preferable for the amount of trouble he seems to drag down on himself every time he leaves the building."

"He's just like that," Skye said as she arrived to join the group. She had her arms wrapped around herself as she glanced around the room. She gave Coulson a tight smile, then took the seat on the other side of Kate. "How's he doing?" she asked very quietly.

"If you ignore the alarms and the doctors freaking out — he's fine," Coulson replied with a tiny smirk. "You know how contrary he can be."

Skye gave Coulson a small smirk and nodded at that, leaning her head back against the wall. "So," she said after a long moment of silence. "No masks, huh? What possessed you, drama queens?"

"Well, to be fair, Logan wasn't wearing his either," Peter pointed out, looking a bit sheepish.

"And we were _not_ going to reunite with Logan wearing masks, especially not under the circumstances," Kurt said as if it should have been incredibly obvious.

"That and I really wanted to see Creed go down," Kate muttered with a little vindictive smirk.

"And did he?" Coulson asked. "Is Creed out of the picture?"

Kate paused, and the smirk slipped. "He wasn't dead when I saw him last," she said. "So ... I don't know. I'd like to think the Capitol finished him off, but ... I don't know."

"If you didn't see him die, then he's still alive," Skye muttered, staring almost vacantly at the OR doors while more monitors protested inside.

"There was more than just the Capitol in operation tonight," Coulson said.

"Hydra?" Skye asked.

"Looks like it," Coulson said. "But it's hard to believe that Creed is involved with Hydra when he made it very clear that he hated them."

"There are too many players to keep track of on this scoreboard," Peter said, shaking his head. "Why can't it just be us versus Thanos?"

"Because Thanos doesn't have the backing he thought he did, and power has splintered," Coulson said. "Whoever it is, _if_ they are outside of Hydra — they're minor players right now."

"Minor players who back Creed," Kate said with narrowed eyes.

"No accounting for taste," Coulson agreed.

"Well, whoever they are, we'll track them down and deal with them," Peter said decisively.

"And it doesn't really matter right now anyway," Skye pointed out. She glanced at Coulson and let out a breath. "There's a lot of Capitol chatter, AC. They expected to, ah, _film_ the demise of Weapon X."

"So they're disappointed, or … they think they have our guy dying on tape?" Coulson asked.

"Actually…" Skye paused. "They went silent. Dead silent. Right around when our gallant heroes were rushing Logan to the transport."

"Was that you or them?"

"I _want_ to say it was me," she admitted. "I really do. I was working to jam them as soon as I heard the chatter about filming it. But Coulson... I don't know what they caught on tape, and if they have something, they're being _very_ tight-lipped about it."

"Well. I guess now is as good a time as any to start editing up what you need for a slow release about Tahiti. I'm sure Fury will be back before Logan's out of surgery."

"I can bring my laptop in here," Skye said, sounding relieved to have something to do as she nodded and leaned forward. "I'm sure we're about to get hit with footage of dead kids, so ... we'll need to get ahead of it before they start saying we're all, I don't know, zombies or something."

"Good thing you were already on it," Coulson replied.

"Lucky," she said. Skye glanced toward the door to the medical wing for a moment, obviously reluctant to leave, then bit her lip. "So I'll just ... bring my laptop in here while we're waiting," she said as she slowly pushed herself to her feet and then glanced at the other three. "Do _not_ let me miss anything."

"The real fun will be when it's time for Logan to make another public appearance," Coulson said. "Tahiti or not — we're going to want him out there."

"Fun for him or for the rest of us?" Skye couldn't help but tease.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Coulson smirked her way.

* * *

 _March 27_

 _SHIELD Base One_

* * *

There weren't many personnel around the base who weren't agents or fighters of some kind, and even with some basic training, most of the stylists still felt like they fell into that category.

Which was frustrating, because they wanted to be able to help — but it also meant that, since they weren't going on sanctioned missions, they had become fast friends with the rest of the people on the base who were also staying behind.

In particular, the families of the former Team Awesome were completely open to spending their time with the old stylists and escorts — especially Susan, who was being showered with attention, as every stylist wanted to make outfits for the little girl she was expected to have any time now. Susan, of course, had her own ideas and suggestions, and both MJ and Honey were determined to teach her their craft — properly.

Then there were May and Margali, who seemed to have the supernatural ability to keep order in this particular group, even with the twins counting down the days until they were officially old enough for SHIELD training. And of course, everyone loved the Hudson kids and made it a point to positively spoil them with attention.

So that particular morning, as Noh and Jubilee were headed to breakfast with the full intent to sit with the usual group, they were surprised to see the Hudsons watching the news further out from the rest of the crowd looking downright _concerned_. Even the little kids were watching. Elsie was clutched onto Heather's shirt, and Josh was pretty well hidden behind Mac as the rest of them were watching in various states of hidden behind their fingers.

"What seems to be the…" Noh trailed off from his greeting as he and Jubilee finally got close enough to see what was playing on the screen — footage from yesterday's mission, showing Logan and Creed fighting as Tanaleer Tivan commented that the rebels couldn't even keep from fighting in their own ranks, that they were divided and weak.

Jubilee was positively wide-eyed at the action on screen, one hand over her mouth as she watched Logan and Creed duke it out.

But it didn't stop there. Tivan seemed to be building up the dramatics, working up to a reveal like he used to do in the Games. And sure enough, before their very eyes, they watched as two very familiar kids joined the fight ... and then a third... and the whole of Team Awesome was reassembled, all while Tivan continued to berate the rebellion — this time for using the populace and their sympathies.

"The man running this so-called revolution was Gamemaker during that year," Tivan argued. "Clearly, he was using the Games as his own personal recruitment — and allowing the citizens of Marvel to believe their own children were lost when instead they were being twisted and turned into weapons."

There was a clatter further out in the cafeteria, and the little group looked over in surprise. Peter's Aunt May stood over the tray she'd dropped, staring at the screen playing the news with one hand over her mouth as the first tears started to slip down her cheeks.

Honey Lemon got to her first to help her to her seat, her eyes wide with concern, while the Wagner twins seemed to be unable to decide whether to start celebrating or start searching for their clearly still-alive big brother. Susan, of course, had burst into tears — no one could tell if she was relieved or upset, not even Susan herself — and Margali was simply rooted to the spot.

"He… never told us," Margali said quietly, though the shock on her face was starting to turn into something much more like anger. "All this time," she said, her voice rising, "and he never _told_ us!"

"No," Mac said, shaking his head as he turned her way. "Logan couldn't have known."

"Then what," Margali asked, sweeping her hand toward the screen, "is that? That is _my son_!"

Mac watched the screen for a moment and had to agree. "Yeah, but I'm telling you — there is no way Logan knew."

Margali looked like she was about to argue, but she was derailed entirely when the Capitol feed was hijacked — the SHIELD logo briefly showing — before she saw Kurt sitting on a couch, his hand in Kate's, his face to the camera.

"Of course it's been difficult not being able to tell anyone," Kurt said, apparently in answer to a question. "Not being able to see my family, or my friends — knowing they all think we're dead. I just pray one day soon everyone can know, and we can start to heal." He let out a sigh, and Kate squeezed his arm. "But I know we're doing good work here," he added quietly.

"Yeah, taking down bad guys. Kicking butt and taking names," Kate agreed.

Mac looked Margali's way with a little smile. "Looks like the time is here," Mac said.

Margali looked taken aback for a moment, some of the heat gone from her gaze as she saw Kurt on the screen, talking about his fencing lessons, with Kate chiming in occasionally to brag on him or to add her own stories.

It was a short interview — clearly just a clip of much more — but whoever was breaking into the Capitol feed was clearly trying to pack in as much as possible. Another quick snippet came right on the heels of Kate and Kurt, this time with Peter in full performance mode as he gleefully recounted learning how to use his web slingers to get from one building to the next.

"You have to get the timing and the angles just right or — _wham!_ " Peter clapped both hands together and then winced. "Ouch."

Peter's interview didn't have nearly the same obvious overtones of anti-Capitolism that Kurt's starting words had, but that was somehow better. Just watching the young man — who had clearly grown into his height at last — full of life and laughter was enough to prove that these kids were thriving. Not secret weapons being locked away but honest-to-goodness _children_ living the lives the Games should have taken from them.

The Capitol managed to get control of the broadcast part of the way through Peter gleefully recounting how he _totally called_ Kate and Kurt being a couple, but as soon as that happened, the entire cafeteria — in fact, the entire base — was up and moving. Talking. Processing. Trying to make sense of what they'd just seen. Half the place seemed to be outraged; the other half was shocked. A secret of this magnitude… it was definitely going to make waves. Break trust.

And then there were people like the Wagner twins, who were knee-deep in an argument about whether or not they should wait until their birthday to go see Kurt or if they _couldn't wait_ any longer and had to go see him _now_.

"We should figure out where my victor is," Jubilee said quietly to Noh. "Then we'll be able to find out where the others are."

"Wonder if we could find Fitzsimmons," Stefan mused.

"They're, like, the only SHIELD agents we _know_ ," Amanda said with a little nod. "But they belong to Agent Coulson, and as far as we know, he's high up."

"I'm sure with news like this coming out, it would be impossible not to start bringing the families together," Noh said quietly. "If only for the image of it all."

"You'd think they'd ask for our help in such matters," Jubilee agreed, doing her best to sound insulted.

"Yes, especially when we have such experience putting them in front of a camera," Noh agreed before he couldn't stop the grin, then leaned over and kissed her.

"Who else do you think they brought back?" Jack asked, purely out of curiosity. "I know Kurt was saying it's tough, but… do you think it was _just_ Logan's old team?"

"It _better_ not have been," said a new voice as Teddy Altman joined them, America Chavez not far behind.

"Hopefully, it was the ones that were worth bringing back," Jubilee said. "I can't imagine them not bringing your handsome fiance back. That would be criminal."

"Woah when did he become my—"

"Yeah, she's starting a line for you two. Don't question it. You'll like it, I promise," America said with a dry sort of smirk, patting Teddy on the back. Not that he was arguing too hard, even if he did shoot America a dry, dry look.

Jubilee grinned her way. "I am almost always right in these things — and _everyone saw that kiss!_ Don't try to deny it!"

"I'm not," Teddy said, holding up both of his hands. "I'm just also, you know. Sixteen."

"So be engaged for a couple years," Jubilee said with a wave. "We'll need that long to come up with a properly awesome wedding. There are others in line ahead of you, you know."

"Oh, what's that? Are you two _engaged_?" America looked between Noh and Jubilee with a purely disbelieving scoff. "I never would have guessed!"

"You know," Jubilee said, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "Once this new government reforms? We'll all need to start all new _lines._ I'm sure we'll all need proper _inspiration._ "

"You just want an excuse to make wedding dresses all day," America shot back.

"I want an excuse to have a hand in designing the first ever wedding hot pants," she replied quickly.

America laughed outright at that. "Alright. Just for that, if I get around to getting married, you are _hired_."

"I just beat you out, sweetheart," Jubilee said before she kissed Noh's nose.

"I'm not too terribly disappointed. You are superior in every way," he told her with a little grin. "She's right to ask for you."

"Right, right, but that's years from now," Stefan broke in before the two of them could get too gooey. He made a face their way. "But we were talking about the more important fact of _our brother being alive_."

"I think you were on the right track before," Mac told him. "Find the two scientists. They can't lie worth a damn."

"They really can't," Amanda agreed with a little laugh.

Stefan jumped to his feet and helped Amanda up. "Great! Then … _last one there's a rotten Sentinel_!" he shouted as he took off running to go find the scientists, with Amanda close behind.

"I guess that's me," Mac said, taking his seat and picking up his mug. "They always did say I was the worst one in the district." He shrugged his shoulders and let Josh snuggle back in.

"Yes, but considering the source, that's a compliment," Teddy pointed out.

"I suppose that's true. Runs in the family — disappoint those in charge if you can."

"Only if those in charge are stupid," Teddy clarified, his eyes twinkling Josh's way.

Josh smiled at Teddy, then hid his face again, peeking out from time to time. Mac handed Josh to Heather and pushed away from the table. "However ... I do think that I need to find out how my cousin is. No one has told us if he's even still alive." He gave his wife a kiss and tipped his head to Margali and May for a moment. "I'll tell you whatever I find out." With that, he headed toward Fitzsimmons' lab, sure that he'd given the twins enough time to try and work the easy answers out of the two scientists.

And like he'd thought, they were teasing and picking, pleading and trying every trick they knew to get the two SHIELD scientists to spill … anything. But in spite of their adorable approach, they weren't getting very far, so Mac walked forward very quietly until he knew that the two lab rats had seen him before he took a wide stance and crossed his arms with a glare.

"Come on! When can we see them?" Amanda said, grinning. "Our birthday is like — right around the corner. We _neeeed_ to see him."

"I don't know," Simmons admitted, worrying her hands in front of her as she glanced Mac's way. "Really ... no one expected this to happen the way it did."

Mac took a few silent, slow steps forward, giving them his best 'getting angry' glare.

" _But_ ," Simmons said quickly, "we can talk to Coulson about getting you authorized."

"I'm sure you're at the top of the list," Fitz agreed.

"We need to be careful and go through the proper channels," Simmons explained.

"Right. Don't want anyone to accidentally get in because we got sloppy."

The twins bombarded Fitzsimmons with questions after that as to how the authorization process would work and other details, but finally, satisfied that at least they were on the right path — and after both scientists had promised to speak to Coulson personally on their behalf — they left to go tell Margali what was going on.

When the twins bounded off down the hall, Mac took the last few steps forward. "How is my cousin? The footage they showed …" He took a deep breath and fixed them with a look. "Or have we not seen him because he didn't make it and you're doing … whatever … it is you do?"

"Oh!" Simmons shook her head quickly. "No! No, we ... we still don't know, actually," she admitted. "He's been in surgery since last night ... that footage was taken less than 24 hours ago."

Mac looked more concerned somehow. "How long can he be in surgery before there's a sure-fire problem?" he asked.

"Well…" Simmons glanced toward Fitz. "We can do a little more with the drugs and procedures we have that helped us bring people like Kurt back, so it's still a little… iffy."

"We should know soon," Fitz said quickly. "Any minute now."

"Can I ask how … what kind of injuries he got?"

Simmons and Fitz glanced at each other, but it was Fitz, not Simmons, who said, "Well, Creed tried to beat him to death, so ... if it can be broken…"

"Would you please come and find me either way?" Mac asked. "Even if you plan on … whatever."

"We'll let you know," Simmons promised.

"And we're really hoping not to have to ... _whatever_ ," Fitz added. "It's not always a sure thing, you see, so… it's better if we don't have to try it."

Mac paled a bit at that and just nodded his head. "Thanks," he said quietly. "I appreciate it."

"If it makes a difference," Fitz said suddenly. "We're pulling for him. Hard. Everyone is."

Mac gave him a forced smile and nodded before he waved as he turned to leave.


	37. Family Reunions

**Chapter 37: Family Reunions**

* * *

 _March 31_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Peter was bouncing in place in the room that Coulson had cleared out so that he and Aunt May could have some privacy. It was crazy, waiting for a reunion that came way too fast for him to even process it, even if he'd been waiting for it for a year and a half now. So he wasn't sure what to _do,_ exactly which had his leg bouncing as he sat on the couch waiting for Aunt May to show up.

When she did — with Coulson escorting her — Peter jumped almost immediately to his feet on seeing her and quickly ran to her. He was going to say something, but instead, he had a false start before he simply wrapped her up in a warm hug and tried not to cry - unsuccessfully.

"You've gotten so _tall_ , Peter," Aunt May said into his shoulder.

"Yeah, where are you going to hide the cookies now?" he teased before he'd even really thought about it.

She grinned and took his shoulders in both hands to shake her head at him and then wrapped him up in another long hug. He buried his face in her shoulder for a good long time too, clutching his Aunt May to him as he mumbled out a little, "I really missed you, Aunt May."

"Oh, I missed you too, Peter," she said at just over a whisper before she cleared her throat and gained a bit of composure, fixing him with as serious a look as she was able. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again, young man." She was shaking one finger in her face, but there was no fire to it at all.

He couldn't help the wide grin as he held up both of his hands. "Okay, right. Yes ma'am. No more dying, cross my heart and hope to … not die," he said, crossing an 'x' over his heart before he stepped back to lead her to a seat on the couch — before once again wrapping her up in a big hug.

"Who else are you hiding down here?" May asked after Peter had started and stopped several times in an attempt to tell her everything at once but was unable to simply pick a starting point.

"Right!" His eyes lit up as he started to nod. "Right, yeah ... right. You wouldn't know ... Gwen's here!" He gestured toward a door nearby. "She wants to come say hi, but we thought ... maybe ... well. I wanted to go first."

"You thought what? That I couldn't take it?" She shook her head and narrowed her eyes a bit. "Peter Benjamin Parker — go get that sweet girl."

Peter grinned sheepishly and practically jumped to his feet to do just that, returning minutes later with a widely grinning Gwen — and it didn't escape May's notice that he brought her in with her hand in his.

"Hello, Aunt May," Gwen said brightly.

"Your father will be so tickled …" May said before she got to her feet and wrapped up Gwen in a tight hug. "You poor, sweet girl."

"How is Dad?" Gwen asked as she hugged May back. "Is he alright?"

"I haven't any idea. I haven't been able to hear a thing about home since we got here."

"Well, I thought I'd ask," Gwen said with a little sigh.

"He was doing his best when I left," she told her. "And missing you terribly, of course."

"Well, the feeling is totally mutual," Gwen said. She hugged May again for a moment and then sat down with her and Peter on the couch. "So ... what has Peter told you so far?"

"Not a thing," Aunt May said, sounding almost betrayed. "You'll have to do it for him, I think. The poor boy's starved for attention."

"Yeah, he was here a whole year without me," she teased Peter as she bumped his shoulder.

"Not a _whole_ year," Peter argued. "There was a while there where I was… you know. That doesn't count."

"Peter, it's not polite to speak of such things," May said with a tone that had Peter sitting back — but grinning, clearly having missed May scolding him.

"Yes, Aunt May," he said with a little smile that kept growing as he and Gwen started to finally tell May what they had been up to the past year and a half.

"Alright, Mr. Parker," Aunt May said. "I'd like to meet the rest of your _team._ "

Peter looked surprised for a moment and glanced at Gwen. "Oh. Oh, sure," he said, nodding quickly. "Yeah, just ... ah … give me a second. They weren't expecting… but we should have known, of course … I'll just … um. I'll be right back." With that, he got quickly to his feet to rush off and find Kate and Kurt.

As soon as he was out of the room, May leaned toward Gwen. "I just want to say hello, really. Meet all of them."

"You'll like them. We all do," Gwen promised.

May nodded, still smiling, and leaned back—- though they didn't have long to wait as Peter reentered with Kate and Kurt in tow. "Kate, Kurt — this is Aunt May. Aunt May — Kurt and Kate."

"It's lovely to finally meet you," Aunt May said with a warm smile before she made her way over to hug both of them in turn. "Thank you — both of you — for taking such good care of my Peter."

"He really takes care of us," Kate said through the hug.

"And he wouldn't have been able to if you wouldn't have done the same for him first," she pointed out.

"Yeah, well, we love him," Kate said with a smile.

"We're just sorry that we've had him all to ourselves for so long. He talks about you often," Kurt added honestly.

She gave Kurt a smile and rested her hand on his shoulder. "Such a good boy. Both of you. I'm glad you've had each other."

The two of them grinned at each other and nodded. "We're hoping to get the full set back together," Kate told her in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Well I should hope so," May said, shaking her head. "When is that supposed to happen anyhow? That boy …"

"No idea," Kate said honestly.

"Soon, we hope."

Peter watched his two friends with Aunt May for a while with a beaming smile before he threw his arms around May and Kate's shoulders to start steering them. "Come on, sit down — we're telling stories and catching Aunt May up. Kate, why don't you tell her about when Kurt _walked off a roof_."

"No — he pushed _Sin_ off a roof. _He_ got captured," Kate said with a smile, knowing she'd been baited into the story and not even caring — it was her favorite to tell because it got more and more ridiculous every time she did. And once she got started, everyone just settled in.

* * *

 _April 1st_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kate watched from the couch as Kurt paced a small circle in the room, waiting for Margali and the twins to arrive. He had been like that for the past several minutes, not nervous but simply anxious, unable to wait — though he faltered and then stopped in his pacing when the door opened, swinging wide to reveal Margali.

She was slightly older than he remembered her, more worn-looking, and neither of them spoke for a few long seconds, drinking in the sight of each other before Margali stepped forward and pulled him into a tight embrace, burying her face in his shoulder as Kurt did the same.

When they finally broke apart, they both had tears in their eyes, but they were smiling broadly as well.

Almost immediately, though, the twins came peeking around the corner as well, waiting only long enough for Kurt and Margali to share their moment before they sprang forward with expressions of pure joy as they positively tackled Kurt to the ground in a double hug.

"I like them," Kurt heard Kate say, which only had him grinning wider as he tried to hug both Amanda and Stefan back as tightly as he could.

Eventually, the three siblings managed to untangle themselves and pick themselves up, all of them grinning as Amanda declared, "Best. Birthday. Present. Ever."

Once the twins had let Kurt up for air, though, Margali stepped forward again — clearly trying not to cry as she reached up to touch Kurt's face. "Oh, my darling, I've missed you so much." She let her hand drop to his shoulder, holding him at arm's length. "You're so _tall_ , sweetheart. You've gone and grown up without me."

Kurt smiled at her and then glanced over at the twins, who were making themselves comfortable on either side of Kate and simply _beaming_. "I'm not the only one," he said. "They're both taller than you now." He shook his head before he just had to wrap her up in another long hug. "I can't believe you're here."

"I can't believe that you've gone and helped start a revolution … and with such a pretty girl." Margali gave him a little look. "Did you think that I would miss that part of the _national broadcast_?"

Kurt smiled sheepishly. "If I could have introduced you sooner, I would have," he said as he gently took his mother's arm to lead her to where the others were. "Mama, this is Kate."

Until that point, Kate and the twins had been whispering back and forth so as not to interrupt Kurt and Margali — already clearly friendly, at least, judging by the hushed laughter — but Kate looked up when Kurt and Margali arrived and all but jumped to her feet. "It's nice to meet you," she said honestly. "Kurt talks about you all the time."

Margali shot the twins a little warning look as she closed the gap between herself and Kate to wrap her up in a hug too. Kurt saw something in Kate's expression shift a little as she wrapped her arms around Margali. She seemed...sad, somehow…

 _Oh._

Kate made a lot of light-hearted jokes about her family back home, but seeing her hug Margali made Kurt realize that Kate probably hadn't had a hug from a parent in a long time, especially with her mother gone. Perhaps it was Margali's maternal instincts, but she seemed to realize something wasn't quite right with Kate, and Kurt saw her tighten her hug a bit.

"Thank you for taking care of him."

For a moment, Kate looked totally blindsided by the hug, though she tried to cover for it by clearing her throat and acting like her eyes weren't shining. "You did a good job with him ... I should really be thanking you."

"Come on," she said. "Tell me all about yourself."

Kate glanced at Kurt and then at the twins — who were both leaning forward with trouble in their gazes. She cleared her throat and nodded. "There's not much to tell that you don't know, really," she admitted. "Former spoiled rich kid, best friends are all troublemakers, best archer in all of Marvel…" She trailed off and smiled. "No matter what my mission partner says."

Kurt had to shake his head at Kate as he made himself at home on Amanda's other side, unable to stop the grin as he watched his family together once more.

* * *

 _April 2nd_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

After Peter and Kurt's family reunions had gone so well, Kate was honestly nervous about hers.

Susan and Jack were scheduled to come by that morning, and Kate was following nearly the same path that Kurt had been pacing just a day before, though for an entirely different reason. _What if Susan believed all that Capitol drama? What if they don't like being in SHIELD? What if… what if…_

She was, of course, _more_ than excited to see Susan again. Of course she was. Her big sister was her hero. She just… didn't know what to expect. Susan could be a ditz sometimes. And she loved the Capitol… at least the glamor of it….

Her head came up fast when the door opened, but when it was Coulson standing in the doorway with an expression she didn't have reference for, she froze, confused. "Where's Susan?" she asked. "Did ... did she cancel?" _That's probably what happened_ , she thought, already biting her lower lip.

"No," Coulson replied as evenly as he could. "She had to reschedule. It was completely unavoidable. Two days."

Kate gaped at Coulson for a moment. "Two days? What — what is she even up to?"

He just nodded. "You'll see in two days."

"Is she okay, at least?" Kate asked.

"She will be," Coulson replied. "I'm sure of it. Just be patient. I know it's hard to hear."

"Coulson, if something happened to my big sister…"

"Kate, this is _me_ telling you it's unavoidable. Not anyone else. If she was in trouble, I'd tell you."

She had to pause at that and raise an eyebrow Coulson's way before she let all of the breath out of her body in one long sigh. "Fine." She dropped into the couch by Kurt and tipped her head back, her eyes closed. " _Fine_."


	38. Getting the Band Back Together

**Chapter 38: Getting the Band Back Together**

* * *

 _April 3_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

It took Logan over a week to open his eyes for the first time after the clash with Victor Creed, and when he did, he was alone — which seemed fitting to him. Of course he was alone. He'd simply hallucinated his old teammates, and now he was back in medical. Again.

He tried to move and let out a frustrated sort of noise. _Of course_ he was strapped down. He wasn't trustworthy when he woke up in medical. That was why he had the stupid bracelets Fitz made too, after all.

He ached, breathing was especially painful, and he was honestly depressed to find himself in medical again. He was burnt out from all the killing. Tired of being a celebrated murderer. Hell, the one murder he actually wanted to commit, he botched. Logan closed his eyes and pressed his head further into his pillows, hoping as the IV beeped that he'd be lucky this time and drift off into blackness and not wake up.

The morphine felt cold as it went into his veins, and he let out a breath as he felt himself drifting off and the darkness started to close in around him. He relaxed into it as his breaths became heavier and slower, and as he passed out, he was sure he heard Peter Parker's voice, though he missed what he way saying before unconsciousness claimed him.

"Aw, come on," Peter said. "We just missed him … he was awake! I saw it!"

"We're not leaving again if the only thing keeping us from saying hello is the morphine and poor timing," Kurt decided as he stepped into Logan's room. He frowned at the restraints that were on Logan's wrists and made his way over to free him first of all — frowning slightly at the metal bands still in place — before he left his friend to sleep. After just a moment, Kurt crossed the room to get comfortable on the little couch in Logan's hospital room, with Kate dropping into the seat next to him. She let her legs drape over his as she got even _more_ comfortable, in case they were in it for the long haul.

They were joined after a short while by Skye with a stack of the books they'd all been pretending to read to pass the time as well as a fresh round of coffee. And it took several hours before Logan showed even the first signs of stirring. As soon as he did, Kurt extricated himself from the couch between Kate and Skye and hurried over, repositioning the morphine IV pole as he made room for himself and pulled up a chair close to his friend's side.

Eventually, the drugs wore off, and Logan began to move. He closed his eyes tighter at first, frowning to himself when he really didn't _want_ to open his eyes.

"Are you just going to lie there all day, _mein Freund_?"

Logan's eyes slowly opened, and he turned toward the voice to simply stare at Kurt with a totally open look on his face. It was clear that he couldn't believe what he was seeing — or that Kurt was grinning broadly at him.

"You look like hell, Logan."

"Elf?" Logan choked out in a rasp, and just like that, Kurt crossed the short distance and clasped his hand on Logan's nearest arm.

"Yes."

"You're real? How …" Logan shook his head and tried to sit up slightly. "You're really here. You're not dead." He closed his eyes again for a moment, trying to wrap his head around it.

"Well ... let's just focus on the fact that you're not dead," Kurt said quietly before he and Kate shared a look.

"Not that you didn't give it your best shot," Peter added quietly from his spot in the doorway before he started to walk toward the group.

Logan looked further stricken for a moment as he looked between his dead friends. "So I'm crazy."

"No crazier than you were before," Peter shot back with a smirk. Logan locked onto him for a moment, then went back to staring at Kurt.

"I don't understand. I killed you." Logan said with a healthy dose of distress to his voice. "I _know_ I did. I saw …"

"I got better," Kurt replied with an easy shrug. Logan looked at him for a moment longer before he forced himself to shift to a more upright position with a clear wince. Kurt looked concerned until Logan reached over and pulled him close to wrap him in a bear hug, which Kurt carefully tried to reciprocate, though as soon as Logan got a solid hold on him, he nearly crushed Kurt in the hug.

"Oh good; you're not too badly hurt then," Kurt wheezed out, earning a low chuckle from the burly little victor.

The other two members of the team were hovering close by his bed, and Skye was still sitting on the couch, not yet noticed and waiting for them to have a chance, since they'd been waiting for _much_ longer. The second Logan even slightly loosened his grip on Kurt, Kate darted forward to be part of the hug and wrap her arms around Logan too.

"So, I guess you took up shooting jackasses for sport, eh?" he asked her quietly.

"Someone's gotta have your back," she replied just as quietly. "Might as well be me, seeing as you had mine before."

He squeezed her that much tighter. "Always gonna do that if I'm around."

"Careful there, Logan. I've got a boyfriend now, and he's the jealous type," she teased him, her eyes sparkling with all kinds of trouble.

"Yeah, he's got nothin' to worry about here," Logan replied, finally letting her go. "I'm a damn mess."

"You still look better than you did before," Peter pointed out with a little grin as he inched forward to join the hugging reunion very carefully, though he was pulled into it properly fast. "At least now you look like _you_."

"What the hell'd I look like before?" he asked as Peter tried to bear hug him as hard as he was getting it.

"Well…" Peter started to grin as he stepped back and thought it over. "If you've ever seen those really, really bad Wolfman movies…" Kate reached over and smacked him in the arm, but it didn't stop his grin.

"No," Logan replied. "Missed 'em."

"Don't listen to him; he's just being _him_ ," Kate said with a little grin.

"Believe it or not, that ain't a surprise."

Peter grinned and nodded thoughtfully. "Aww. You do love us. And me! I knew it." He looked triumphant as he drew himself up a little taller.

"You knew what?" Logan asked, frowning at him slightly.

Peter pointed toward Logan accusingly. "That you _like us_ , for starters," he said, moving from pointing to listing off on his fingers as he went. "And that you and Creed were on Weapon X, but that was recent — and that Kate and Kurt were going to be a thing the second they were in the same room again ... also true…"

"Do you ever stop to breathe?" Logan asked.

"Hey! You asked me, and I'm answering. Not my fault there are _oh so many_ things to be right about."

"I wasn't askin' for your life story of the handful of things you've been semi-right on."

" _Semi_?" Peter looked aghast. "I'll have you know I _called it_." He waved a hand at Kate and Kurt, who were sharing bemused smiles at the familiar argument. "Two years ago, I called it."

"You didn't," Logan said, frowning.

"I so, so did," Peter insisted.

"You must've imagined it," Logan replied. "Because ya did no such thing. At all."

At that, Kate started to giggle as she pointed at Peter. "HA! Vindicated."

Logan had to smirk her way at that, amused at the expression of pure betrayal on Peter's face.

"I think you broke him," Skye called out, finally standing up from her spot where she'd been enjoying the show as she grinned Logan's way. "Hi, by the way."

"Hey, stranger. Who the hell else are you hidin', Director?" Logan asked with a crooked smile.

"In this room? It's just the five of us," Skye said as she slipped over and kissed his scruffy cheek before he pulled her into a better 'hello' kiss that had Peter turning red and clearing his throat over. "Sorry I couldn't tell you before."

Logan let out a little grumble. "Secrets need to be kept. Wasn't yours to tell anyhow."

"No, but I was in charge of the actual public announcement," she said with a little smile, particularly when she realized he wasn't letting her go. "Which, by the way, happened while you were out. Not _me_ , but your friends heroically saving your butt on Capitol TV was fun."

"Did I screw that up for you then?" he asked before he moved over to make room for her.

"Cause I'm not sorry at all. Couldn't hear Fury. Static."

"Yeah, don't lie," she laughed as she climbed in next to him — to grins from the entire assembled awesome team. "And if you're going to, try harder than that. You taught me better."

"Maybe it wasn't static … but I couldn't hear him," Logan replied, shifting so she could snuggle in better.

"I really don't care," Skye told him honestly, resting her head on his shoulder where she could steal kisses easier.

"Then I guess it's time to get the hell out of here," Logan decided.

"Woah, hey, wait." Peter held up both hands. "You were out for _days_. Maybe think about taking it easy for, oh, five minutes?"

"Hey. You _just_ said I was out for days. How much longer do you expect me to stay here in bed like an invalid?" Logan challenged.

"In this room? Just until you feel better," Kurt said with a small smile. "But in this _wing_?"

"I'm better'n dead," Logan said with a shrug. "So let's go. Couldn't have been that bad, right?"

Kurt gave him a _look_. "They were preparing to bring you back from the _dead_ , Logan. The way they did with us. You were close, _mein Freund_."

"So, you know, don't finish yourself off," Kate chimed in, nodding along. "We have waited _way_ too long to say hi and get you back for you to do something stupidly _you_ and get on morphine all over again."

"I take offense to that," Logan said with a little glare her way.

"Which part?" she asked sweetly, knowing full well what the glare was for.

"The insinuation that I'd waste morphine." Logan kept his poker face. "I only get that when I've done something incredibly … big."

"Stupidly _you_ ," she corrected, gesturing at the morphine IV drip. She reached over to pat his arm. "It's okay. We love you anyway."

"Yeah, there was a stupid part," Logan agreed. "Guess I better get my shit together so I can find Creed."

"He's pretty badly torn up with a couple of my arrows him. He's got to heal as much as you do," Kate pointed out, though her eyes flashed at the mention of him.

Logan chuckled a little. "Gave him a knife for you," he told her. "Where he really didn't want one."

"Atta boy," she said with a grin that spread further and further over her expression. "Hit him where it hurts."

"Where he keeps his brain," Logan agreed.

"So he's totally crippled then," Kate surmised with a grin. "Should make it easier to put an arrow in each eye."

Logan's smile fell as he thought about it. "Who snipered their sniper?"

Kate and Kurt glanced at each other. "We don't actually know," Kurt admitted. "We were focused on getting to you and stopping Creed…"

"Whoever it was, it wasn't SHIELD," Skye said. "Everyone was accounted for except these three."

Logan frowned and shook his head. "They were trying to help Vic. The one that shot me."

"Yeah, we don't know who that was, but when we do, I'll shoot him back," Kate promised.

"Capitol was shooting at him almost as much as they were shooting at us," he said almost to himself.

"There's still a lot that we don't know about what happened," Kurt admitted. "There were new players ... massive secrets being spilled…"

"Yeah," Logan said, nodding his head. "But … Creed knew that sniper had armor-piercing rounds."

"Yeah, that ... seems to suggest someone friendly with the guy? And I literally cannot make my brain think that," Peter said, making a face. "It's just rejecting that input. Blue screen. Try again. 404 error."

"I don't think there was anyone I can think of that'd fit that description. Maybe his brother ..." Logan tried to assure him, patting his shoulder a bit harder than was necessary — just because he could.

"We'll find a lead on the guy and fix that later," Skye promised, still curled into Logan before she turned his head and stole a kiss. " _Later_."

"Yeah, right now you have, like, almost two years of everything you missed, everything we missed…" Kate grinned.

"Why do I _not_ believe that you don't know anything?" Logan asked as he settled in again, resting his head on Skye's.

Kate and Kurt shared a glance once more before Kate shrugged up both shoulders. "Because a) I'm a Hawkeye, so I see everything and b) you know we'd never leave you without good backup. So ... there."

"Coulda used some backup when Parker's aunt led the freakin' charge with … everyone," Logan muttered.

"They all spoke very highly of you," Kurt said with a soft smile. "The twins loved learning with you — they told me all about it yesterday."

"Somethin's wrong with the water in Nine," Logan whispered to Skye.

"I'll put it in bottles," she teased him.

"Don't even think about it, Director."

"Yellow and blue bottles," Skye said, the grin only widening. "With specific instructions for hugs after drinking."

"You've been spending too much time with Parker."

"Well, we _have_ been waiting around together for your lazy self to wake up."

"Right. Guess I missed that memo."

"You should be happy," Kate broke in. "It means we've adopted her onto the team — which, by the way... you should meet Peter's girlfriend. Team membership _has_ to be unanimous."

"Team membership for what?" Logan asked with a little frown. "Isn't that Coulson's department or something?"

"Team Awesome," Kate said as if it was obvious. "Duh."

"I can't believe you're still usin' that," Logan said flatly, though with Skye curled up with him, he was getting tired again.

"It stuck fast," Kurt said with a small smile. "Even Coulson has been calling us the 'awesomes' since we came back to life."

"Because it's a _good name_ ," Kate said triumphantly.

Logan turned to Skye with a raised eyebrow and muttered into her hair, "They're screwin' with me, right?"

"They're really not," Skye said, grinning as she nestled in and took his hand to entwine their fingers, smirking to herself.

"Well ... if it's unanimous, you tell me," Logan said to Kate. "It's been you three for two years."

"Almost two years," Kate corrected him. "But we'd love to have Skye and Gwen on the team. You know. Sort of part-time members, seeing as Gwen's always in the lab and Skye cheats on us with Fury and Coulson."

"I gotta debrief," Logan said, though he didn't look like he was even considering moving for Fury. "And if you have problems with other teams, I'm pretty sure I've been out a helluva lot longer than I was ever in."

"We don't have problems with other teams," Kurt assured him with a smirk.

"We just have to tease the future director of SHIELD," Kate agreed.

Logan chuckled at that. "I know you hadta hear about that before I came in. So who spilled? I know she doesn't like it enough to bring it up herself."

"The current and soon-to-be-former director himself," Kate said. "Who is actually a very good shot, by the way. Came down to the range with me and Skye."

"He's better under pressure," Logan promised with a little laugh.

"I still can't believe you two have an _inside joke_ with the director of SHIELD. What is _up_ with that?" Peter asked, shaking his head.

"Ask Logan. He's the one who keeps pushing the director angle," Skye teased without picking her head up.

"The real inside joke is the fact that I won't tell him where his cigars are." Logan grinned at Peter. "I had him rationed out. Told him it was wartime and that he needed to be frugal while I was lighting one up."

Peter's entire face lit up. "And I _missed it_ ," he breathed out.

"Almost glad he slept through April Fool's," Skye said with a small smirk. "He and May are _terrible_. She does all the work — and he gets in trouble for it."

"Not that much trouble," Logan defended before he picked his head up slightly. "Which reminds me. Your SO did a shit job of trainin' you."

"Which one?" she asked. "Because one of them already died for it."

"Yeah, I heard. But take your pick."

"Well then don't let May hear you say that," she teased. "She's already mad at you for blowing her off when she was _trying_ to tell you about the undead kids over here."

"Not my fault she can't sneak worth a damn."

"And Fitz was sneakier than her, somehow," Skye laughed. "He told me about that."

"I was more asleep," he corrected. "And scared the hell out of him after the fact."

"He will probably want to come say hi at some point," Skye told him. "He really did feel bad, especially because he thinks he made it harder to _tell you I was alive_." She gave Logan a falsely severe look for the full five seconds she was capable of, then snuggled into him better. "Don't worry; I gave him the evil eye for, like, an hour for it."

"You're not capable of givin' anyone the evil eye for an hour." Logan shook his head. "More like the mildly inconvenienced eye. Twenty minutes. Tops."

"I was incredibly pissed off without my favorite lumberjack," Skye corrected him.

"That's true," Kate practically sang out. "She missed her _space heater_."

"Everyone needs a use," Logan said diplomatically.

"Aww, you're more than _just_ a space heater," Skye said with a teasing grin and tipped her head up to steal another long kiss to prove it. "And I _did_ miss you."

He didn't argue her point and didn't exactly look up to continuing the argument with anyone as his weariness started to really show, so Kate and Kurt led the charge by simply leaving the two of them alone, and making sure to turn the light off on their way out.


	39. Katie Kate

**Chapter 39: Katie Kate**

* * *

 _April 4_

 _Tahiti Medical Wing_

* * *

As soon as it was clear that Logan was awake and aware, Fury came in and took over the room, kicking out any of the Tahiti kids that were hanging around so that he could _finally_ get his debrief.

Maverick and Wraith had managed to get the device — if nothing else — and Fury had his contacts watching for Creed everywhere. He had started out the debrief looking incredibly frustrated with Logan … but when Logan pointed out all that Creed knew, not to mention the fact that he knew that sniper was using armor piercing rounds …. Fury's whole outlook shifted.

"We're not dismantling the team," Fury said after the two of them had spent at least twice the time they usually did discussing what had happened. "But seeing how spectacularly bad your last slack man was — I want you to pick out who'll be watching your back."

"Wait, what?" Logan asked, totally not expecting Fury to take that route.

"You need to pick a new slack man. You're staying on point, and you know Mav and Wraith will go along with whatever you want — especially after how that went down," Fury said. "Maverick is still swearing over not having gotten a shot at Creed. They'll go with whoever you want. If it makes it easier, I can give you a short list of operatives on both sides—"

"I'll figure it out," Logan said. "I know who's good on the other side, and I'm guessing part of the reason you got me here is to see how to mesh 'em both …"

"Part of the reason, yes," Fury agreed. "But I also knew you'd be a royal pain in my ass if I didn't let you see your friends."

"There is that," Logan conceded.

"You have two weeks to give me your choice," Fury told him. "And in the meantime … you have visitors."

* * *

 _April 4_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Once more, Kate found herself waiting in the room Coulson had set aside for family reunions, though instead of pacing a path, she was sitting down with Kurt, who had hold of both of her hands and was running his thumbs over her knuckles. It was a clear ploy to keep her seated and to keep her from getting too worked up, but he also kept stealing kisses when she started to look nervous again, so Kate wasn't exactly going to complain, either.

And honestly, Kate was expecting to hear that Susan had canceled again when the door opened, so she was doubly surprised when she saw not only Susan standing in the doorway — but Susan _standing there with a baby in her arms._

Kate stared openly for a long moment, at a complete loss for words. She simply hadn't been prepared for any of this. _Coulson, I'm going to hit you… or hug you. I haven't decided yet_ , she thought before she finally got her feet underneath her to rush over to hug her big sister and, apparently, her new niece.

Susan dissolved into tears the moment she wrapped one arm around Kate, half-burying her face in Kate's shoulder. Kate couldn't help but join her, her voice quavering when she finally pulled the slightest bit back from Susan to look down at the little girl in Susan's arms. "I didn't even _know_ …" Kate said, staring at the tiny girl who had clearly been dressed by every stylist SHIELD had liberated, considering the perfectly-knitted pink hat and little gloves to keep her from scratching her face, and the purple-pink designed onesie that just _had_ to be from Noh-Varr.

"Do you want to hold her?" Susan asked, her voice shaking with emotion, and when Kate simply nodded wordlessly, she very gently laid the pink bundle into Kate's arms, only crying harder on seeing her baby sister with her baby daughter.

"She's just the cutest thing ever," Kate said, staring down at the little girl with wide eyes.

"We named her Katherine Eleanor," Susan told her, and Kate looked up with a total open expression, her eyes going even wider, if that was possible, as all her breath caught up in her throat.

"Oh!"

"We… we came up with the name when we still thought you were dead," Susan said unsteadily. "If … if you don't want…"

"No, no — I love it!" Kate said, in a voice choked with emotion as she very gently kissed the little girl's forehead. "You'll have to call her Katie, though. Just to differentiate. No one should have to say _Katherine_ all the time."

Susan laughed at that and nodded before she rushed forward to gently wrap up both of them in a hug again.

The three Bishop girls stayed like that for a good, long time before they even thought about moving, and it was only when Susan noticed that Kurt was even _there_ that she let out a little 'oh' and took a step back, cleared her throat, wiped at her eyes, and then tried to look a little more presentable so she could introduce herself.

"Right. You — you have to be Kurt Wagner," she said with a little smile. "I'm Susan ... but ... well, I suppose you already know that," she added, as Kate grinned over her sister's shoulder.

Kurt couldn't help but smile on watching the two sisters interact as he got to his feet to shake Susan's outstretched hand — though he was surprised when Susan took his hand to pull him into a hug as well.

"Do you want to meet Katie too? I mean, you're practically already part of the family anyway," Susan said with a little laugh and a smile as Kate looked somewhere between mortified and still too happy to see her sister to care.

"I'd love to," Kurt agreed, a little pink around the edges, though of course, that melted into a warm smile when he saw the sweet little girl Kate was holding, sound asleep and snuggled in.

The four of them found a seat together as Susan started to gush to Kate about everything she had missed in Twelve — every little detail. Kurt had to laugh to himself on seeing the family resemblance; Susan was just like her sister in animatedly plowing through a story.

But after a while, Katie woke up — and she wasn't happy about it. She fussed and cried, and while Susan tried everything, it was simply a matter of Katie being grumpy.

"We could walk around," Kate finally suggested. "Maybe a change of scenery?"

Susan nodded, the little girl in her arms wriggling and fussing, and the three of them poured into the hallway not for a _tour_ but to try and calm Katie down — until they heard the loud giggling that was definitely coming from a source much younger than any of the Tahiti kids.

Kate and Kurt glanced at each other with dual expressions of confusion before they headed down to investigate, surprised when they found Logan right where they'd left him — but he was absolutely surrounded by six small kids, along with Mac and Heather Hudson. Josh was in Logan's lap, whispering a little story in his ear, and Elsie was on his other side practically bouncing in place.

"You come to join the party?" Mac asked with a smile as he extended his hand to Kurt. "Nice to meet you finally."

"And you," Kurt said warmly. "I hope we're not interrupting."

"No, we're just letting the kids say 'hi'," Mac replied. "We're the never talked about family, by the way."

"Ah," Kurt said as he glanced over at Elsie. "That would explain a few things."

"The kids are all adopted," Mac said with a grin before he started naming them off for the two Tahiti kids, and of course, when Josh saw someone new looking his way, he hid his face in Logan's shoulder.

"Heather's been a big help," Susan told Kate with a smile. "She was the one to practically sit on Jack while he was panicking in the waiting room."

"Sounds about right," Kate said, leaning over Susan to offer Heather her hand. "Kate Bishop. Thanks for being there for my big sister."

"Heather Hudson," Heather replied as she took her hand. "It was my pleasure. I'm used to helping out where I can."

"Speaking of helping," Susan said with a look of 'help me' as she gestured at the grumpy, squirmy little one in her arms.

"Oh, we've got the secret weapon for grumpy little ones," Mac said with a troublemaking grin before he gently took Katie out of Susan's arms and started to try to soothe her — only so far as to walk her across the room and promptly hand her over to Logan, who was giving him a glare.

"You're not funny, Mac," Logan said as Josh shifted away from him for a moment and Elsie stood up to make room as Mac handed the little one to Logan. It only took a few moments of Logan trying to situate her before he very quietly turned his attention her way with a slight frown. "Stop that now," he muttered to the little one in a gentle yet firm tone, and to Susan's shock, she did.

Kurt looked openly shocked as well, and he looked from Logan to Mac and then back to Logan. "How…?"

"Kids love him," Mac said delightedly. "Doesn't matter how much he tells them to go away, they just … _love him._ "

"He is just super cuddly, isn't he?" Kate giggled delightedly, both hands clasped underneath her chin.

"Oh, shut up," Logan grumbled her way. "I'm _not_ cuddly."

She held up both hands in an imitation of a camera box. "I am not _blind_ , Logan. Don't insult me."

"You're crazy," he muttered, but Josh had picked just then to become completely entranced by the little girl Logan was holding, and he was leaning halfway over her with wide eyes.

"What's her name?" Logan asked, but it was Elsie that answered as she climbed back in next to him to 'help'.

"Her name's Katie," Elsie said. She glanced at Susan, scrunched up her face, and said, " _Katherine_ Ele- Eleanor, right?" She leaned into Logan. "I heard them making the birth papers."

Logan nodded. "Not as easy as Elsie Dee, is it?"

She giggled and shook her head. "No, not at _all_."

"Alright, you wanna come get her now?" Logan asked, clearly done with being the source of Mac's amusement already, but Katie was perfectly content and fully awake, and Mac shook his head, holding both hands up.

"No, no. I think she's right where she wants to be. Newest recruit for your little girl army and all," Mac said with a laugh.

"Start them young," Kate laughed delightedly.

"You're both a pain," Logan said dryly as Josh reached out to touch Katie's cheek. "An' I thought you wouldn't like him too much, Kate. All things considered."

Kate smirked and shook her head. "No, no. He's on my team, clearly."

"You're letting a Sentinel on your team?" Logan challenged.

Kate made a face at Logan first and then pointed a finger Mac's way. " _Ex_ -Sentinel. _Right_?"

"Yes, Ex. That part is very important," Mac agreed. "And I was a crummy one while I was in, too." He looked toward Kurt. "I'll be teaching you guys some new tricks really soon, too. Got the rundown from Director Fury this morning."

Kurt had to grin at that. "Sound exciting," he said at about the same time Skye appeared in the doorway with two mugs of coffee in hand.

She blinked at the scene — and at Logan with the three youngest kids in his lap — and just turned on her heel to leave with a little muttered 'nope.'

At that, Logan couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Alright. That was worth it."

"What, scaring your girl off with your giant cuddle ball powers?" Kate teased.

He looked entirely exasperated with her. "I'm not a cuddle... _Stop that_."

"Never ever," Kate promised.

"You didn't start on her young enough," Kurt pointed out.

"But she's been hanging out with you. Gotta rub off a little bit, right?" Logan countered.

Kurt smirked and shook his head as he put an arm around Kate. "Now, what makes you think I'd change a thing about her?" he had to laugh.

"I know you," Elsie said very slowly, her eyes narrowed as she looked Kurt over carefully and crossed her arms. "You lit a fire for us."

At that, Kurt paused and broke into a warm smile for her. "That's right. My friend Peter and I were there. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you who I was back then."

Elsie glared at him then leaned up to whisper something in Logan's ear, her hand covering her mouth so no one could _see_ what she was saying.

"Maybe you should show him anyhow," Logan told her quietly. "So he knows not to lie to sweet little girls."

"I did no such thing," Kurt scoffed, sounding entirely offended.

"You didn't want to say who you _were,_ " Elsie said with her hands on her hips. "That's the same as lyin'. 'Specially when you were all in black. Like a _bad guy._ "

"She's got you there, Elf," Logan smirked with a troublemaking look in his eyes.

Kurt pulled his shoulders back and huffed as he drew himself up taller. "I am _not_ a bad guy — and you know it," he said, more to Logan than anything else.

"Yeah, maybe," she said. "But you coulda been."

"Mac was gonna shoot you if you came back," Logan told him, and Mac was nodding along with that.

"Then it's a good thing I didn't," Kurt said, holding up both hands. "But I wanted to. A hundred times over — and it wouldn't have been with the mask on."

Logan leaned closer to Elsie for a moment to whisper something back, and an instant later, Kurt was nearly bowled over as she ran over to do her best to try and tackle him with a hug. He righted himself and then picked her up to properly hug her back with a wide grin. "I take it this means you've decided I'm not a bad guy?"

"Yep," she said, nodding. "But ... " She stuck her finger at his nose. "You better tell the truth next time, or I'll have to take you down."

He nodded seriously and put one hand on his heart while holding her up with the other. "I promise — I will always tell you the truth. And please, forgive me for not telling you before. Clearly, I was horribly wrong."

" _One_ free pass," she said, nodding. "Just one."

"That is perfectly fair," he agreed as he let her back down.

Very suddenly, Josh turned toward the two of them with one finger over his lips as he shushed them. " _Katie is asleep_ ," he whispered.

"We should go then," Susan said as she finally made her way over and leaned down to pick up the little girl from underneath Josh's watchful gaze, smiling at Logan as she did. She glanced to Kate and smiled wider. "I'll come visit again soon."

"Please," Kate said before she wrapped them both up in a hug.

"We should go too," Mac said, and in a rush, the kids all said their goodbyes — first to Logan, and then they followed Elsie's lead to do the same with Kurt and Kate before the whole group filed out, leaving the three of them alone.

"So. When do you guys usually train?" Logan asked after a few beats of silence.

"Mornings and early afternoons," Kate said with a grin. " _Usually_."

"Everyone go at the same time?"

"More or less," Kurt shrugged. "Though with the missions coming in at strange intervals since the revolution, it's starting to be less and less structured and more a matter of 'when we have time.'"

"At least for the older kids," Kate agreed.

He nodded at that. "Too late today then?"

"You might catch Clint and Nat if you go _now_ ; they're usually there until dinner," Kate said, though she glanced sideways at his IV. "But yeah, everyone else …. probably not."

Logan nodded thoughtfully before he slid his legs over the side of his bed and made his way over to the bank of cabinets, opening them until he found what he was looking for — though he didn't take it back to the bed with him, instead fiddling with something while Kurt and Kate shared a frown.

When he turned back around, the IV was lying on the counter, and he was pressing a cotton pad to the crook of his arm. "Lead the way."

Kurt frowned. "Are you sure you should be up?"

"Kurt, since I opened my eyes, I haven't had a damn thing wrong with me. They've been dopin' me to keep me in bed," he replied. "Think I didn't catch that part?"

"Simmons said it was the only way you wouldn't run off," Kate said with a small smirk.

"And I let her keep doin' it because she looked like she was about to pass out or cry or … _somethin'_ every time she came in."

"Yeah, well, that's Simmons," Kate laughed as she and Kurt both moved to help.

"It's not," Logan replied. "But she's a little over-sensitive with me."

"She's been a little over-sensitive since Skye joined us here," Kurt admitted.

Logan let out a breath and nodded. "That doesn't surprise me," he said. "But she's been like that with me. Has been for … a long time."

"You're just something special, Logan," Kate had to tease him, bumping his shoulder.

"Keep telling yourself that," Logan replied flatly before he gestured ahead of himself. "Come on. Ass kicking."

The three friends made their way down to the training area from there, and as Kate had promised, Natasha and Clint were still there, sparring. Neither of them were pulling their punches — they never did — and about the same time they arrived, Clint had just managed to pin Natasha, though she used the kids' arrival as a distraction to hook her legs and reverse the pin so that she had Clint more or less trapped. It wasn't until he admitted defeat that she let him up again, either.

"C'mon, Nat, that's just mean," he teased as he rolled his shoulder where she'd been pulling on it.

"Oh, sorry, did you want me to go easy on you? You should have said so," she countered before they went right back into it.

Logan watched them work — and pick — until they stopped on their own, his arms were crossed and he was simply analyzing both of them until Clint glanced his way, grinned, and headed over to the three of them, with Natasha watching from a good distance carefully.

"Heard you were up. Katie was excited about it," he said with a smile as he stuck his hand out. "Clint Barton. The other Hawkeye. And that's Natasha Romanoff. Black Widow. Say hi, Nat."

But Natasha only tipped her head Logan's way.

Logan nodded and gave Natasha a little smirk. "Nice to see you up and around again, Red."

"The pleasure's all yours," she teased.

"Natasha?" Logan asked, eyes narrowed slightly. "Not .. Natalie?"

Her eyebrows rose for a moment before she let out a little laugh. "It's Natasha," she said. "But you have a good eye — or ear — for detail."

"And access to a lot of Fury's files to confirm my suspicions," Logan admitted. "Knew I was right, but it's nice to have confirmation."

"Well, that does spare my feelings the slightest bit," Natasha said with a smirk.

"It's a shame we didn't keep you on the team — would have driven Creed out quicker."

"I did like working with you boys," Natasha agreed, still smirking. "But you know how it is. Fury has his own reasons."

"No hard feelings then?" Logan asked.

She paused and seemed to consider it before she shook her head. "If you knew my history, you'd know I wasn't at my best before," she said with a small smirk. "It's a shoddy introduction. Let's start over, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me — but how about when you're a little more fresh?" He offered her his hand.

She smiled outright and strode over to grasp his hand in hers. "I'm here at five in the morning. Quieter then."

"I'll see you then," he agreed. "Coffee after?"

"Sounds good to me."

"So… you two've met before? Not just in the Games?" Clint asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Helped Weapon X on a mission or two," Logan said offhandedly.

"Four," Natasha said. "But you wouldn't have known about two of them."

"Four then," Logan agreed.

"So that's where you've been disappearing to with Fury," Clint said Natasha's way, and she shrugged openly, a sparkle hiding behind her eyes.

"And you never _told_ us?" Kate demanded, and Natasha shrugged again.

"Fury needs to know he can trust me," she said simply.

"Only reason anyone knew I was in it was the Ronan thing. And the broadcast the other day," Logan said.

"Yeah, the Ronan thing sort of gave it away," Clint agreed. "But it was beautiful work."

"Chicken shit took off runnin'," Logan grumbled.

"Like a little rat," Natasha said. "I read the report."

Clint shook his head and let out a little breath before he spun around on his heel to better face Logan. "So! Clearly, you don't need introducing to my best friend — so what's on your mind? Just looking for a sparring partner?"

"Partly," he said. "No one to play with topside." He turned toward Kurt and Kate. "And I'm told I gotta lay low for a little while. Apparently, Coulson is trying to lay a claim. He's duking it out with Fury and Hill right now on who gets to keep me."

"Good old Van Helsing," Kate said with a smile.

"He wants to keep you here — with your friends," Kurt said with a smile to match Kate's. "We've pestered him for almost two years for just that, I'm afraid."

"Well, it's been enough to throw 'em off. Hill and Fury have been going back and forth for a while," Logan said with a little shrug. "Almost done with everything Hill wanted."

"Then she'll be fine siding with Coulson," Kate decided.

"Don't bet on it," he argued. "She's got a vested interest in what Fury's doing too."

"Which is what, exactly?" Kate challenged.

"Classified," Logan replied. "That an' Hill says I keep Fury in a good mood — what with the making him drink an' stealin' his cigars."

"I can see that," Clint said with a little chuckle.

"Mostly after missions," Logan explained. "But I don't doubt I'm driving 'im to it, either. Had a regular poker night going for a while there."

"I feel like that explains so much," Kate muttered to Kurt, who had to nod his agreement.

"Well, if you're just waiting for the higher ups to figure out their crap, you can join us for dinner," Clint offered.

"I'm stayin' here," Logan said. "If nothin' else to avoid other complications. It's just a matter of which team I'll be working with most of the time."

" _Our_ team, hopefully," Kate said.

"Probably depends more on what needs to be done," Logan pointed out. "And what kinds of missions you guys run."

"Mostly infiltration," Kurt admitted. "And sabotage." He leaned forward with a little smirk. "I can get us into almost anywhere."

"Why am I not surprised?" Logan asked with one eyebrow quirked up.

"Yeah, you should have been there when Coulson teamed him up with Remy," Clint chuckled.

"Too bad it wasn't our infiltration guy that went loose," Logan said with a little smirk. "Coulda used a friendlier face on that crew."

"Then put me on standby if he ever can't join you," Kurt said with a little smile.

"Works for me," Logan agreed.

"Hey, if he has an in, I want one too," Kate grumbled. "I'm the one who freakin' shot Nebula. I know how to play."

"Thanks for that, Trickshot," Logan said. "That had to be the very last thing she expected."

"They never see me coming," Kate had to smirk. "Ever."

"They're lookin' for us — but they don't know we're there until we're done. Though now someone's freakin' handed over all the clues they need to find us."

"Yeah, that was just a bad situation all around," Kate said. "Which is not surprising, because… Creed."

"Right. Anyone else coming through tonight, or do I actually get some kind of half-assed tour now?" Logan asked. "You know. _Before_ Simmons comes looking for me."

Kate was already moving to slide an arm through Logan's as Kurt straightened up and grinned. "Yes, we should show you around our temporary home, shouldn't we?" he said. "I should warn you — there are several people waiting to tackle you to the ground, and I can't promise I can stop _any_ of them."

"Yeah?" Logan asked with a little smirk. "Like who?"

"Like Kamala for one thing," Kate said. "She's _dying_ to say hi. She's been showing off everything you taught her since they brought her back."

"So why didn't she come by?"

Kate shrugged. "She wanted to wait until you were better so she didn't break anything when she tackled you," she said with a teasing twinkle in her eye.

They didn't have to wait long to prove Kate right, either, since almost as soon as they got to where most of the other Tahiti residents were having dinner, Kamala let out a squeal of delight on seeing Logan and rushed over to throw her arms around his neck in a huge hug.

He picked her up off the ground, returning the hug with a little chuckle. "Been kickin everyone's backsides?"

"Oh yeah," she said, the smile growing even wider. "Showing them how it's done."

"Atta girl."

She beamed at him for another moment before she let out a little 'oh' and started to pull his arm. "You _have_ to say hi to everyone else. Miles and Gwen and Billy — oh, his boyfriend moved in just a couple days ago, did you hear? Coulson let him in!"

"No," he admitted. "I haven't heard much."

"Well, they've been stuck together like _glue_ ever since, and it's just too ridiculous," Kamala told him, still leading him along. .

As they made their way through, they passed Kitty and Peter Quill, who were deep in conversation, and Logan couldn't help but take advantage of their distraction. "Hey Kitten. Quill."

Kitty's head popped up — as did Quill's — and she climbed over the table to get to him and smack him lightly in the arm. "Hey — no. You come and give me a decent hug and a hello," she told him before she did just that and hugged him.

"You looked busy," he defended as he returned her hug. "Pickin' up the married guy. You should be ashamed."

"Missed you too, Logan," Quill called out with a smirk. "Nice to see you up and around. Welcome to the party."

"I oughta kick your ass for lettin' us think you were dead," Logan said, pointing a finger his way. "Groot was inconsolable. You're just lucky you got an extra layer of protection between you guys and the crazies. Must be nice."

"It really is," Quill said with a nod as he leaned back in his chair easily. "And hey … just 'cause the divorce isn't final doesn't mean a _thing_."

"Oh, you'll be a widower before you're divorced," Logan pointed out. "Don't worry about that."

"I'm really not," Quill said.

"So, didja have to die to get in here, or did they adopt you too?" Logan asked.

"No, I just had to be _declared_ dead by SHIELD and everybody. The Quill you see before you is 100% original," he said with a crooked grin and a laugh.

"Only member of Tahiti to come in looking more dead than the rest of us," Kitty teased.

"I can believe that," Logan agreed.

"It was the threads. Get me in red leather and jeans, and I'm good as new," Quill defended.

By that time, they were starting to attract a crowd, and both Billy and Miles made it a point to greet Logan as well, though they didn't give him the running hug Kitty or Kamala did — that was Gwen's prerogative.

"Looks like you collected the rooftop kids," Logan said to Quill. "Any chance you got mine?"

Quill's smile slipped as he leaned forward with all four feet of his chair back on the ground. "As I understand it? They brought Clara back, but she ran off. Scott? No dice. Something about the process … didn't stick," he said honestly.

"Stubborn ass," Logan muttered under his breath.

"They've got everyone else, though," Quill said. "Not including America, but that's just semantics, really."

"She'll push her way through," Logan said. "As soon as she realizes I'm down here with you guys too, she'll kick the door in. Claim we're trying to ditch her again."

"Sounds about right," Quill laughed.

"Oh, well, she's on her way," Billy said. "It's just she wanted to make sure Teddy got in first."

Logan and Quill shared a look as if that was all the confirmation they needed. "There ya go," Quill said, gesturing with both hands.

"Well, if you're done being the massive cuddle ball," Kate told Logan with a twinkle in her eye, "what say we get some eats?"

"Probably less chance of bein' poisoned here," Logan said under his breath to Quill.

"Oh, significantly less, considering the kitchen staff is wrapped around Ororo's little finger," Quill laughed, clapping a hand on Logan's shoulder. "Come on. Might be fun to give you the tour — like old times, right?" he teased, not letting Logan get a word in before they headed off.


	40. Open Arms

**Chapter 40: Open Arms**

* * *

The Tahiti group at large was still joking around when Cassie and Wade came in, and before Cassie could say anything to slow him down, Wade was at a near dead run to flat out tackle Logan — and hug the stuffing out of him once they were on the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Logan asked as he tried to get out of Wade's bear hug.

"We've just been waiting for _so long_ ," Wade said, squeezing tighter the more Logan tried to get loose.

"Hey Elf? Go get a crowbar before I kill him," Logan said, leaning away from Wade's bear hug as much as he could, which wasn't much considering how wrapped around Logan Wade was - arms and legs holding him tight.

"Oooh, right," Wade said, releasing him immediately and backing off. "Can't do the snikt-y snikt. That would wreck all the fun." Wade was to his feet first, and offering Logan a hand up, though Logan glared suspiciously at him.

"Yeah, please don't stab my boyfriend," Cassie said with a little smile as she caught up to them. "Hi there, by the way. I'm Cassie, and this is Wade. He's harmless, I promise."

Logan was getting to his feet on his own — never taking his gaze off of Wade. "Don't you have a leash for him?"

"Ah, no." Cassie shook her head at that. "But it really is nice to meet you. I'm an old friend of Billy's — from Twelve. Kate's group." She smiled softly and waved with just her fingers. "Thanks for taking care of my friends, by the way."

Logan looked at Kate and let out a little breath. "Why are you worried about getting a team together when you have your whole gang?" He reached out to shake Cassie's hand with as close to a friendly expression as he could pull together.

"Almost the whole gang," Kate corrected him. "And who says I can't have both?"

"Not a soul," Logan said, shaking his head, though he still wasn't ignoring the wide grin that Wade was giving him.

"You should come join us in training tomorrow," Kamala told him as she gestured for Logan to come sit with her. "I've been practicing those throws and stuff, and I'm learning other things, but I'd _love_ to learn more. Pretty please?"

"Sure, darlin'," Logan agreed. "Gonna meet with Natasha first thing, but I'll be around. I'm sure you have better teachers, though."

"No way," she said adamantly as she took up a spot on one side of him, grinning to herself. "I never learned so much so fast as I did when you were teaching."

"That was probably the motivation of the Games getting ya moving, not me," Logan said.

"Maybe a little bit," she admitted. "We'll just have to see, won't we? When you come and teach me. And — and probably Kitty too."

"Oh, yes, definitely," Kitty agreed as she darted forward to take up Logan's opposite side.

"You'll probably need to get clearance for that," Logan said with a raised eyebrow. "Seein' as I'm not cleared."

"What for? Just meeting up and sparring? Nah, we do it all the time," Kitty laughed.

"I was thinking more that your teachers would want you to learn from someone that knew what they were doing," Logan pointed out.

At that, Skye seemed to pop up by Kurt — coming in while there was still enough chaos of the hugging and reunions that no one had noticed her — and she leaned over Kurt's shoulder with a crooked, troublemaking grin. "Doesn't that make you the perfect fit? I mean, you're already teaching what, six other students?"

"Not in a long while," Logan replied, though he was giving her a little scowl. "I've been too busy for that."

"We'll just have to combine classes so you're not even busier with two separate ones," Skye said matter-of-factly.

"You better clear that with the director, Director," Logan countered as they found a place to settle in and Kitty bounced over to steal a kiss from Peter Quill. "Pretty sure he's got plans for me."

"We're already thinking about bringing a few stylists in," Skye said easily, smiling as she watched Quill light up. "Might as well be your students."

"Oh come on."

"No, really," she laughed. "The public interviews went over really well, so we're going to expand."

"Yeah, he said something about needing to confirm that I was still breathing. Pretty sketchy on the details, though," Logan said before he pulled her over to sit with him.

Skye grinned at him for a second and settled in. "Well, I pitched a few ideas you might like."

"Of course you did," he said with a smirk.

"Hey, I can't leave you totally out to dry unless it's something hilarious," she teased.

"Oh. The bet?" Logan said quietly into Skye's hair, smirking the whole while. "I won, by the way."

She looked crestfallen for a moment. "When?"

"Few days before that last mission."

"And she didn't say a word?" Skye looked almost betrayed.

"She did when I walked off the plane naked," Logan said with the tiniest of smiles tugging at the corner of his mouth.

" _Why_ were you naked?" Kate asked, scrunching up her nose. "Do I even want to know?"

"Chemicals on the clothes. Had to get 'em off. They were smoking," Logan replied. "It was eating through the armor. Melted the grips off the guns too."

"This kind of stuff happens to him _all_ the time," Skye said in a pretended voice of longsuffering. "It's ridiculous."

"Comes with the turf. Rich creeps get paranoid, start setting up more elaborate ways to keep from getting killed," Logan explained with a shrug.

"That reminds me," Skye said as she glanced up at him. "If you could just hurry up and find a certain white-haired cretin, it would make _my_ job easier."

"Why's that?" he asked.

"He's been running the public face of the Capitol, and he's got someone on his team trying _really hard_ to keep me out of his broadcasts. It's not working. Obviously. But it's so very annoying."

He nodded to himself. "All the intel we've been getting says that he's probably holed up _in_ the palace," Logan said, looking thoughtful. "Not impossible to do …"

"Ah, no. No palace trips for you until _after_ I get my snuggles in," Skye told him. "There was, like, a whole month of being entirely deprived."

"I've been through the palace plenty with no trouble," Logan defended.

"Yeah. Okay, but consider this: One. Whole. Month. A whole month of me being dead or you being in the hospital. I'm calling it. I _need_ a space heater for at _least_ a few nights."

He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly again. "Fine. I'll buy you a blanket, smartass."

"You'll have to sub for a blanket until you get the go-ahead to go shopping," she shot back.

He smirked her way. "So you think that I wait for permission to do that stuff?"

She paused and had to roll her eyes before she kissed him. "It's a nice thought."

"Yeah, ask old director how well that's working for him," Logan said. "Pilots do what I ask."

"Just … just shut up and at least let me start taking over your room before you go after Tivan," she said, before she leaned in and stole a kiss. "I only have one flannel shirt right now, and I need more if you're going to keep being stupid."

"One more than I got right now," he replied softly. .

"Well if you let Simmons actually clear you, I bet there will be move-in boxes in a second," she teased.

"I've already got Mac on the job," he admitted. "No reason to bother Simmons."

"Of course you do." She sighed and shook her head. "You're ridiculous."

He thought about it for a moment and paused before he gave her a quick kiss. "I think I might need to have a word with one of them anyhow," he admitted before he held out his arm to show the bracelets were still on. "They need to go."

"To be fair," Skye said softly, "that was more to make sure you didn't reflexively stab anyone who was working on you."

"Yeah, well. Maybe I wouldn't have needed to worry about reflexive if I'd have used 'em on Creed when I had a chance," Logan pointed out. "Screwed that up pretty good."

"I'm _really_ sure you'll get another chance to kill him dead," Skye promised. "And you did _not_ screw it up. I saw the video. He was dead to rights before his buddy shot you."

"Whole point of the fight was to kill him," he said in a grumble.

"Ah, excuse me, no," Kate said, cutting in with a frown. "The whole point of the fight was for us to come say hi. That's what really matters here."

"Is that your way of saying _you_ had someone shoot me before I could kill Creed?" Logan teased. "Because that's sick, Trickshot."

"That would be supremely stupid," Kate said, making a face at him before she had to tease, "I'd wait until _after_ you killed Creed."

"Good distinction," he countered. "I was starting to wonder if you were mad that I was the one that got to stab him in the junk." He smiled for a moment. "Wonder if I neutered 'im?"

"I hope you did," Kate said with relish.

Thankfully, that conversation fell to the wayside as Logan took stock of who was there, trying to remember what he could about those that he knew. It was as good a time as any to make his mental notes. They'd be expecting him to at least want to know who was there anyhow. And besides, they all seemed content to talk to each other and joke around him, obviously glad he was there.

By the time dinner was over, Logan was more than ready to call it a day — healed quickly or not, he had some catching up to do that wasn't drug-induced. "Where am I headed?" Logan asked, looking like he needed a break.

"There are still a few open rooms you can choose from," Peter offered.

"There's one right across the hall from me," Kurt said with a little smirk.

"There we go. Lead the way, Elf," Logan replied. "Haven't slept in the same room twice for a while now."

"Busy without me?" Skye teased.

"Right. That's what it was," he replied easily. "Big demand for me in wartime."

She laughed and slid her arm through his. "Don't worry, Kurt; I got this one," she said. "I know where the room is."

"Busy without me?" Logan countered with a smirk.

"Oh yeah. So very," she said straight-faced, though when he met her gaze with his own perfectly straight expression, she cracked.

"You're losing what little edge you'd gained," he told her. "Haven't you taught 'em how to play yet?"

"I was actually busy," she defended.

He gave her a look as if it was an admission, just to get her to either give him a hard time or get flustered.

"Oh, shut up. Not like that. I was busy being dead and then screwing with Capitol broadcasts."

"That last word's the clincher," Logan teased.

"Well, not everyone's as popular as you are," she teased right back.

"So you've been reading payment records …"

" _Shut up_. I've been making Tivan's life hell. It's kinda fun."

"It is," he agreed. "Fury said he's a lil' bit scared of little ol' me. No idea why."

"It's a mystery, that," she agreed with a smirk as she leaned her head on his shoulder as she led him down the hall.

When they got to the room that Kurt had mentioned, Logan didn't even look around it before he dropped down on the bed and let out a breath. "Too many people today."

"Aww, did they wear you out?" Skye asked as she dropped down beside him.

"I'm not built for friendly," he replied.

"I'll have to disagree, but you'll just tell me I'm biased, so…"

"You _are_ biased," he argued. "God only knows why …"

"See?" She shook her head at him. "You're getting predictable, Logan. You must be tired."

"I'd push you out of bed, but I was told you needed a night or two with a bed filler."

She laughed as she made herself comfortable. "Yep. Too bad for you," she teased.

"Unless intel changes, though," he said, sounding much more serious as he turned her way, "It'll be more like two weeks."

"I'm going to have to selfishly be happy about that," she said, snuggling in.

"This would be better in Seven," he muttered into her hair, his eyes closed.

"Agreed," she whispered back. "We'll have to hurry up and kill the idiots in the palace so we can do that."

"On it," he said with a nod. "Got a few new protocols in place already."

She didn't get to ask what they were, though, as he was already drifting off, so she pulled the blanket over both of them and pulled his arm around her to make herself comfortable too, more than happy to curl in after so long.

* * *

 _April 5_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

The next morning, Logan was up early, as usual. He slipped out from under Skye's grasp and carefully covered her up then gave her a kiss on the temple before he slipped out of the room and worked his way to the training room, where Natasha was waiting.

"Right on time," she said with a little smirk as she started to stretch out. "I just got here a few minutes ago."

"Force of habit," he replied as he more or less followed suit with a few stretches, then shook his arms out. "Ready when you are."

She smirked and made a quick dash toward him, and in an instant, it was on as they began to spar. Every strike she made was deflected, and for a while, she was doing the same with his strikes, too. Then, as with their first fight, she switched to kicks, but he was waiting for it, and after a much more energetic two-way back and forth, she swept his feet out from under him and he smirked at her as she went for the pin — then reversed it on her and cranked her down just as tightly as May had pinned him once upon a spar.

"You've gotten a lot better," he said, with no hint of teasing in his voice before he let her up — and she immediately knocked his feet out from under him and pinned him again.

"So have you," she said with one eyebrow arched up. "Who's been teaching you?"

"No one that notable," he replied before he twisted and threw her from the pin, quick to return to his feet. He couldn't help but smile her way the slightest. "I haven't had a good sparring partner in a while," Logan admitted as they squared up again. "Kinda nice."

She smirked the tiniest bit as she took her position, and after a moment or two, they were back to it, fast and furious as they sparred. It was a good thing that they had started alone, since they were using _most_ of the training room — and half of the various weapons racks in it — on their way around the room. And by the time some of the others started to trickle in... they were having a _blast._

A pass by the staves had both of them cracking their chosen staves against each other's at a quick tempo, though halfway through that little interlude, they both seemed to realize that they each had one stave that matched the set the other was using. They paused, just long enough to wordlessly toss one to the other so they were then working with a matched set before they simply continued.

They switched back to hand-to-hand, and both were grinning as they neared the next weapons rack; even at the pace they were going, they wouldn't be stopping any time soon.

But eventually, Logan managed to pin her again — right after she got one of the knives off the weapons rack. "Yeah, we're not doing that little dance again," he said with a little chuckle as he disarmed her and got her in a tight hold she couldn't work her way out of. "Do _not_ try to play knives with me."

It was a means of highlighting to her that he still had more to give — and no plans to show all his cards, and Natasha knew it. She had to grin before she nodded and tapped out. "Little bit sensitive, are we?" She teased.

"Not because of you, darlin' — that was pretty minor," he replied. "But it does get me a little … stabby nowadays when someone tries to pull a knife."

She had to smirk at him and shake her head. "Then no knives," she said. "I'd hate to lose such a good sparring partner." With that, she gave him a little smirk and headed off to join Clint, who was watching the whole interaction carefully, almost protectively.

"Thinking of replacing me?" he had to tease, one eyebrow quirked up.

"Never," she said with a little smirk. "It would be impossible anyway. I doubt anyone has your skill and horrible, horrible jokes at the same time."

"Thought you hated my jokes, Nat."

"I do."

He grinned crookedly at her, shook his head, and then thumbed over his shoulder at the door. "Coffee? Or do you want to go a few rounds first?"

"Maybe we should spar," she had to tease. "You might actually have a shot now that I've had a good partner work me over first."

"Just for that, we're getting coffee," he laughed. "C'mon, Nat. Try not to bruise my ego _too_ much."

"It's just too easy," she said, the smirk widening.

He gave her a dry look for that one before the two of them headed back to grab some coffee together, leaving Logan shaking his head at them as he stretched out then headed off to bring coffee back to his room, where he knew Skye would be rousing soon enough.


	41. Camera Ready

**Chapter 41 - Camera Ready**

* * *

 _April 6_

 _Tahiti Wing_

….

For as much trouble as it was for _anyone_ to get access to the secret wing of SHIELD's base where those in the know were clearly hiding the kids that they'd brought back — and for as much fuss as Kate's father was making about being denied entry when every other family member for Team Awesome had been allowed in (even though SHIELD was well aware of his ties to the Capitol) — the stylists were _all_ shocked when Coulson approved not just one but _all_ of the stylists to go through the security screenings.

There were stipulations, of course. Obviously, since the awesomes were the only kids in the program whose identities had been compromised, the stylists whose kids had been on national television would be the first allowed in.

Coulson promised them that they might even have a job to do. There was something about seeing those kids literally coming back from the dead to rise up against the Capitol and save their old friend that was driving recruitment, especially in the districts that had been home to the kids before the Games — and even if Coulson didn't say as much out loud, the stylists could tell that there were plans for more public appearances.

After all, if nothing else, they should probably let the country know whether or not the kids had been _successful_ in saving Logan's life.

They went through so many layers of security to get to the Tahiti Wing that all four of the stylists were raising their eyebrows — even more so when Honey muttered, "Ronan didn't even have this much," and the two stylists who hadn't been captured and taken to the palace dungeons looked like their eyebrows might disappear into their hairlines.

So the nerve level was pretty high when they did finally make it to the room that Coulson directed them to — to find all four of their former tributes waiting for them in what was basically a living room, with couches, shelves, a coffee table, and so on.

Honey Lemon surprised everyone, though, when she was the first one to move, _running_ in her tall heels at full speed all the way to where Peter Parker was to wrap him up in the tightest hug she could. Peter looked shocked for all of a second before he grinned and returned the hug as best he was able, considering she had all but pinned his arms to his sides. "Oh, hey, Honey."

"GoGo is going to _freak out_ when she sees you," Honey told him, still hugging him, and he grinned.

"You guys really missed me that much?"

Honey finally released him, took a step back, and lightly punched him in the arm. "Of course we did!"

"Aww, love you too, Honey."

In the meantime, Warren had found his way over to Kurt, grinning, and the two shared a quick embrace before Warren looked him over. "You've let your hair grow out," he observed. "It's a shame I didn't get to see it before my prep team took your curls — it suits you."

Kurt grinned at that and nodded. "It's good to see you too."

And as for Noh, Kate was the one to wrap him in a hug, and before he could say anything, she blurted out, "So, I heard you were engaged, and I'm going to need to know everything now, you know that, right?"

Noh looked surprised for only a moment before he pulled her into a spinning hug, laughed, and nodded. "Of course," he agreed. "And my lovely bride-to-be is just over there with Logan, so you can bombard us both. I know from experience people will ask her all the same questions I have just answered."

"More fun that way," Kate teased.

Jubilee had simply-side stepped the rest of the crowd as they made their teary-eyed reunions and slipped into the seat next to Logan to take his arm and lean her head on his shoulder. "You're not supposed to scare me like that, you know. I take it as a personal insult when you pull stunts like that," she told him.

"Just the job, Jubes," Logan replied without a bit of actual apology as he tipped his head her way and the two of them simply sat there, heads together and watching their friends get reacquainted with each other.

For a while, Coulson stood by during the reunions, which mostly consisted of the stylists commenting on how different their kids were after nearly two years and the kids wanting to know "news of the outside world," as Peter put it.

But finally, he did have to step forward and clear his throat, looking around the gathered group until he was sure he had everyone's attention. He looked at Logan in particular as he said, "This isn't just a reunion gathering. We're going to be calling your stylists in more often as we reveal more of the Tahiti program — and do a little public relations campaign against the Capitol." He almost looked apologetic Logan's way. "It's going to be a lot of camerawork, but the country needs to know you're alive and well."

"So take a picture with today's paper in it," Logan replied dryly.

"We want to do a little more than just prove you're breathing," Coulson replied just as dryly. "Right now, we need to get ahead of the rumors and the confusion sparked by the Capitol revealing the Tahiti program and your team."

"So spill it. What do you need?" Logan asked.

"We'll start with a quick piece — just to show you're alive and back with your old team." He paused and smiled at the other three for a moment. "That's the one thing we have going for us — people across the country _loved_ the four of you in the Games, and seeing you together again is helping. Though keeping the secrets we did… isn't exactly helping our cause or giving us much in the way of support." He glanced toward Logan. "Additionally, we can't let Hydra or the Capitol know what our program is capable of beyond raising the dead, so for a while, you'll need to wear a sling, Logan. It was visibly broken in the Capitol broadcast."

Logan nodded at that. "Got it. Look hurt."

"When we've established the fact that the group is back together, we may have Fitz's dwarf cameras follow you on a few easy missions, just to see you all back in action." Coulson smiled. "You really do work well together, and it would ease people's minds to see you out there and not panicked and nearly dying."

" _They_ work well together," Logan said. " _I've_ been out of it for a while."

"Then I'd suggest training with each other more often," Coulson said. "Unless Hill or Fury has a project for you, this is your new team. It plays well, and it's clear that the camaraderie is genuine."

"Nick hasn't got anything that would interrupt your media blitz right now," Logan admitted. "But there is something down the pike."

Coulson nodded and then let out a little breath. "I know it seems like we're lowballing what you're all capable of," he admitted. "But this morning, Hydra made their first public play to let themselves be known to the public. They're positioning themselves as the alternative to SHIELD for anyone who doesn't want to be part of the Capitol, and frankly ... it was a good blow." He nodded toward the doorway, where Skye seemed to be waiting for her cue.

She looked downright _annoyed_ as she set up the TV monitors in the room. "Okay, so whoever Hydra has working this is frustratingly good enough that I couldn't stop the broadcast," she admitted. She took a step back from the monitor and gestured at the screen. "This is what aired this morning."

Everyone in the room turned their attention to the monitors as a relatively unfamiliar green logo with a tentacled emblem showed on the screen for a moment before a voice that was unfamiliar to almost everyone in the room started up, talking about how SHIELD had recruited the ex-tributes to fight the Capitol, yes, but what they weren't telling the world was what they had gone through and what they were being forced into in order to gain the edge.

"Coulson, what the hell …" Logan said almost to himself as he pulled away from Jubilee and straightened up, almost wide-eyed. Jubilee let go of his arm as she frowned at him with pure concern.

"Just watch," Coulson said without looking his way.

Sure enough, as the footage changed from the now-familiar Capitol broadcast of the kids saving Logan, it focused on a young woman that none of the others recognized immediately, though Kurt frowned Logan's way after a long moment of watching her as he finally started to put it together. This was the same girl that the Capitol had shown during Logan's pre-Games interview — Logan's ex-fiance from Seven, Silver Fox.

Fox spoke candidly but in a voice filled with emotion about waking up in SHIELD's "custody" after her own Games. "It was like being imprisoned," she told the camera. "SHIELD locked us in every night, controlled our every move. They had rules about what we could wear, who we could be friends with, when we slept…" She shook her head lightly at the memory. "They said that I owed them my allegiance for saving my life. I was lucky enough to get away, but obviously, not everyone else was."

Logan watched with a clear look of frustration and loss as she spoke briefly about how she had fled from SHIELD and found "sanctuary" with Hydra, and not long into the broadcast, a second person joined her that the kids in the Tahiti program were shocked to see. Brock Rumlow from Six was sitting with Fox, nodding along to her most recent story as he spoke to the ways the program had been even worse the longer it went on.

"By the time they got around to my year, they had the controls down to a science," he said. He held out an arm, and the camera focused in on a long scar there. "That poison they used in the Games ... it had a secondary purpose. They didn't take the delivery system out when the kids in my year came back. Hydra had to cut it out of me when I escaped."

The footage continued for a little while longer, talking up Hydra's credentials as the _real_ resistance, claiming that SHIELD was the same thing as the Capitol, that they were trying to organize a coup but under the same regime. By the time the video ended, Skye looked furious about the whole thing, and the others looked shocked.

When the film was over, Logan was staring at the now blank screen with one hand over his mouth as he tried to wade through it, getting angrier as he thought it over. " _He's_ a damned liar, but she _wasn't_ lying," Logan said finally, glaring Coulson's way. "How much of that is true?"

Coulson sighed. "Right now, none of it. We got rid of the worst offender when it came to most of those rules very recently."

"But before then?" Logan challenged as he got to his feet and squared up with Coulson. "When you were hand-picking kids to die, how much from the Reaping to what she was talking about is true? Did they have _any_ damn choice?"

"Of course they did," Coulson said, straightening up under Logan's gaze. "Whatever else happened, I swear to you, we gave every single one of them a choice in the matter — and we even relocated and helped a few kids who said 'no' to settle into new lives and new identities. Whatever mistakes we made, that, I swear, wasn't one of them."

But it was blatantly obvious that Logan simply didn't believe him. "I'm going for a walk," he said shortly before he breezed past Coulson and left the lot of them behind.

"That," Coulson said quietly, "was about as bad as I expected it to be."

The room was quiet for all of about two minutes before Coulson's comm went off — a few of the guards that were keeping the kids in and others out were asking what they should do, since Logan had decided he was _leaving_ and anyone that was telling him no was getting hurt.

Coulson sighed, pointedly not looking at the 'I told you so' look Kurt was wearing like a neon sign as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let him through," he said. "I know where he's going."

"He's not wrong," Kurt said, and Coulson just shot him a look in response.

"I'm well aware, Mr. Wagner."

* * *

Logan didn't stop for anyone — especially not the well-wishers that really didn't know him enough to realize that now was most definitely not the time to try to make friends. It didn't surprise him in the least when he got to Fury's office to find that the door was already open and waiting for him.

He stepped inside to find Fury rising to his feet, already trying to calm him down. "Don't say anything you're going to regret," Fury said.

"Not even remotely possible," Logan shot back. "Were you even gonna tell me about Fox? At all?" He stalked closer to where he could reach him if he wanted to. "She wasn't lyin'. What're you holdin' over their heads to keep 'em here fightin' your fights?"

Fury met his gaze and very slowly shook his head. "It's not like that. _Anymore._ The guy who was making the threats on the revived tributes was tossed out on his ass. That wasn't SHIELD. That was _one_ power-hungry doctor."

"Who _worked_ for SHIELD while SHIELD reaped the benefits," Logan ground out, still clearly enraged.

"Had I known the kinds of threats he was making on those kids, he would have been gone a lot sooner," he promised. "We brought in Xavier to make sure that the kids were _sane._ That pretty little girl you were dating back in Seven? _Your_ Silver Fox? She came out nuts. We should have had better people there for her when she woke up, but we hadn't gotten Charles yet, and as I'm sure you know too well, Creed had screwed her up before she even went into the Games." He paused and took the short walk to his chair as Logan continued to glare at him. "I didn't think that Hydra had her. I thought she'd gone out to just … live."

"And you weren't going to even tell me about her were you?" Logan asked, still glaring.

"No. There was no need to. I thought you'd moved on. I know she has, and honestly, she is _not_ the same girl you knew." He slid a tablet toward Logan loaded up with videos of Silver Fox and her behavior before she slipped out of SHIELD — and the violence and malevolence she showed to people like Cassie. Logan watched the video for a while with a deepening frown before he finally slid it back to Fury.

"I want proof that Kurt and the others aren't being manipulated, or I'm out on _all_ counts," Logan said through his teeth. "No to your freakin' promotions, no to your teams, no to all of it. And don't try to tell me you don't do that kinda thing, because you and I both know that's a crock of shit."

Fury looked thoughtful as he tried to find a way to prove something that wasn't happening. He turned and headed to the safe behind his desk to pull out a few files then he thumbed through them and pushed one of them across his desk to Logan. "This is everything I have on that stupid tracker that was in all of the kids' arms last year. Everything. And the proof that every kid that went in that we revived had it removed." The pictures were clear — and the trackers were numbered and lined up in the photos — still half covered in blood, so it wasn't a matter of a 'before' picture.

As Logan was looking over the photos, Fury slid another folder to him that showed an entirely different looking device. "This is what we pulled out of Natasha Romanoff after she tipped us off to what Dr. Essex was doing with certain tributes." Logan frowned at the photo as Fury went on to explain. "It was resting next to her heart, remotely controlled. It contained a similar toxin to what was used in the Games. Not exact, but close enough that we are reasonably sure of its source." He took a breath and let it out slowly. "This was _not_ sanctioned by SHIELD. This was all Dr. Essex. Your friends do not have anything like this anywhere near them. And while we're at it ..."

The last folder Fury simply handed to him — and in it was a list of names. "This is the list of who we tried to bring back. Which ones worked out, which ones didn't. And when they didn't — _why_ we think it didn't work. Brock Rumlow never made the cut. We didn't even _try_ with him."

Logan glanced up at him for a moment before going back to read down the list carefully, frowning at Scott's name and the reason it did not work. He didn't look up at first, instead holding his hand out for more, and with a sigh, Fury returned to the safe to pull out the two years' previous lists. "Why were there so many in these two years?" Logan asked. "And what kind of a jackass uses the same kind of poison in a tracker as what was in one of the stupid mutts when you were _planning_ from the get-go to revive these two?" He tossed the folders back to Fury's side of the desk. "Even _I_ know you'd have to check to make sure the chemistry works. And I'm just a stupid drunk lumberjack, according to my psych profile."

"There was no way to know that those two would end up getting envenomated. I was actually hoping it would have been Oyama, to be honest."

"I need more than your intentions, but hey. Nice to know that I was on your list from the get-go anyhow." Logan glared his way. "Though I'd say you lucked out big time. No way in hell I'd put up with all the crap you're sending them through."

"Take Simmons with you," Fury said. "Take her back to Tahiti with you. Tell her to prove whatever it is you need proven."

Logan thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "Fine. But if even one of 'em has any kind of device in them? I'm coming back." He turned on his heel, not waiting for any response as he headed right for Fitzsimmons' lab.

The two scientists popped their heads up when Logan stalked in. Both doctors were smiling at first, but that fell to the wayside as Logan grabbed Jemma's wrist and started walking. "You're going to do me a favor. Right now."

"Oh!" Jemma looked a bit wide-eyed. "Oh, well, right, yes, of course, but it's really not necessary to _pull_."

"Keep up, or I'll throw you over my shoulder," he warned.

She nodded and kept pace with him, halfway running to keep up with his determined stride. "Has something happened?" she asked, but he kept right on.

As they approached the Tahiti security protocols, she started to pull her badge out, but Logan didn't slow down for them either, and to her surprise, the guards simply got out of the way as he barrelled through one checkpoint after another.

When he got back to where the rest of his old alliance was, he nearly pushed Simmons at them. "Make sure they're not carrying around some damn _kill switch_ ," Logan said before he gestured toward the hall they'd come down. "Like Romanoff had."

"Oh," Simmons said, finally understanding. "Of course. Right. I can scan them, but they really don't — that isn't a problem for any of them—"

"This is me asking nicely," Logan pointed out. "So humor me."

She swallowed and nodded. "If you'd just… come to medical," she said to the three kids, who were all watching Logan's incensed expression with frowns and clear confusion, but they also knew better than to argue with an angry Logan.

When they arrived in the medical wing, Simmons briefly explained the scans she would be doing as she set up Peter first and then turned to Logan at last. "How extensive do you need?" she asked expectantly.

"Ease my mind," Logan replied. "Whatever that takes."

She nodded and turned back to the controls as Kurt reached over to put a hand on Logan's arm. "What's going on, Logan?" he asked. "It must be something to get you in medical, even if it's not for your own health," he said with a light teasing tone and a small smile, obviously trying to ease whatever was on Logan's mind.

"Fox wasn't lyin'," he said simply. "Rumlow was — but only partly." He turned toward Kurt. "So, you tell me. How restrictive have they been?"

Kurt let out a breath as his shoulders slumped slightly. "It was worse before we moved to this base," he admitted. "There was never anything like Rumlow suggested, but you're right. Fox wasn't lying about everything. We were locked in, and there were rules — Kate and I were in trouble all the time for fraternization," he said, this time with an attempt at drawing a reaction from Logan, though it fell short.

"What was their line when they put you to work?" Logan asked, totally ignoring Kurt's attempt to lighten his mood. "I know the kind of pressure I had to put up with, and if it wasn't any better than that—"

"When we woke up, they explained the purpose of Tahiti and offered us the option to fight in the revolution," Kurt said.

"Did they try to put the screws to you?" Logan was frowning and clearly looking for a lie from his friend.

"It wasn't necessary — for any of us. Of course we wanted to fight the Capitol." Kurt paused. "There was even a point when we all refused to take missions — we had that choice."

"How'd that pan out?"

"At the time, Director Fury became involved, but since then ... Coulson has been much more open in giving as much information as he can in his briefings," Kurt said with a little smirk. "So I'd say it was a success."

"Rumlow wasn't on Fury's list."

Kurt looked honestly surprised at that. "I didn't know; none of us were allowed to see the list."

"I just read it. For the past three years," Logan said. "Elektra, T'Challa, and Etta. All failed attempts."

"And we know about Bucky and Scott," Kurt said. "Clara was upset."

"And Bucky and Scott _were_ on Fury's list. They tried to get them back. Rumlow wasn't. So who the hell did it?"

"I don't know," Kurt said, looking far more troubled than before as Simmons switched Peter out for Kate in the scans. "I don't like the idea that Hydra can just bring back the people we worked so hard to kill," he added, arms crossed.

Simmons, meanwhile, had printed off Peter's results. "Would you like to see for yourself?" she asked Logan. "There's nothing in him at all."

"Are you telling me that I shouldn't have a reason to trust you?" Logan asked, clearly trying to rib her a little.

"Well, you didn't seem to take my word for it _before_ when I told you the scans were unnecessary," she pointed out, though she had to smirk a little. "Do you want it or not?"

"Yeah. Show me they're not carrying around a bomb or something."

Simmons waved him over and showed him Peter's scans. "There's no foreign material whatsoever," she told him. "He even had his stitches out before whatever happened… happened."

Logan nodded, already having seen the scans from before Natasha's device was removed, though he still wasn't going to let it go entirely until he'd seen all three.

By the time both Kate had been through — with a clean bill — Skye had arrived as well, with a couple curious stylists trailing behind her. "So what's the problem here?" Skye asked Logan as she took his arm.

"So far, just a healthy case of paranoia," Logan replied, though he didn't even try to explain further.

"Well, are you cured of the paranoia now, or do we have to send me through … and Jubes ... and Noh…?" she couldn't help but tease.

"Never gonna get over the paranoia," Logan said. "I was looking for a kill switch. Natasha had one near her heart. Right, Jemma?"

Simmons nodded, though everyone else looked shocked to hear it — except Kate, who waved Logan off impatiently. "That's because Essex had _her_ all locked away and brainwashed. That was totally different. I had to lie in that thing for _Essex_ crap? Really?"

"Yeah. You did," Logan replied, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Because Fox wasn't lyin'. Misdirectin' some from what Kurt said — but not lying outright. And Rumlow _wasn't_ on Fury's list. This program of yours never tried to bring him back."

"Which means someone out there has their own Tahiti program," Simmons said softly, her eyes wide. "That… that is most definitely _not_ good."

"I'll take care of it," Logan said. "Gotta have intel coming in on that broadcast."

"Yeah, I'm running a trace on where it came from," Skye agreed. "It's taking longer, but Stark is helping me with it too."

"Good," Logan said with a nod. "So now we need to make sure our Elf doesn't have any issues, and I'll reconsider killing off the old director."

"Guess my promotion will have to wait," Skye said with a little smirk.

Logan frowned at her and shook his head. "Oh no. You're not next in line. We have to deal with the reign of Assistant Director Maria Christina Hill first."

"Is that really her middle name?" Kate asked gleefully.

"It is," Logan told her, and Skye had to smile as she nodded along.

"He calls her that when she's in trouble," Skye said with a broad grin, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"That is just… beautiful," Kate said, grinning as Kurt finally came out of the scans.

Simmons waved Logan over so he could see the results as they came in. "Well, no issues here," she told him. "See?"

Logan looked over the pictures carefully before he let out a breath, pulled her over with one arm, and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he wrapped her up in a quick hug. "Wonderful. Thank you."

She sputtered a little "you're welcome" and straightened out the sleeves of her shirt. "Yes. Well. Is there anything else you need? I'm sure Fitz is worried sick right now."

"No, go ahead," Logan said. "I won't tell him you got a kiss for your efforts if you don't."

"Oh, please don't. He'd never be the same around you," Simmons said honestly as gathered herself and left.

* * *

 _April 8_

 _SHIELD Base One_

* * *

"Whatever Fury is using to choose who's allowed into the Tahiti Wing, it's not a system _I_ understand," Bobbi told Viper as she sat down. "He's allowing family — except Kate's — and a handful of _stylists_ , of all people. But no victors — even Rhodes has been running non-Tahiti missions since the move, and he's _dating_ one of them."

"Well, we shouldn't be too surprised about Bishop," Viper replied. "Why no victors? I thought you had sway?"

"I _did_ ," Bobbi said. "Something's changed since the revolution; I don't know what."

"He's got all of his favorites in one place," Viper replied.

"That would explain the lone exception. Logan's _moved in_ over there," Bobbi said, making a face. She paused. "Well ... they did let Chavez in as well, but under the umbrella of 'family,' since they brought Billy Kaplan back."

"Well, that explains why I can't find Logan," Viper said with a little pout.

"Coulson staked a claim, apparently. That ridiculous broadcast of his old team tipped the scales."

"He'll get tired of playing with the children soon enough," Viper said, waving her hand dismissively.

Bobbi nodded her agreement, but before she could say anything further, the television screen in Viper's room flashed with the SHIELD emblem as a new broadcast started up — this one showing Logan and his team joking around, with Logan's arm in a sling as Peter Parker was the one to give the rundown on how things were going.

"Speak of the devil," Viper said with a little smirk.

"Looking surprisingly well, considering how that fight went," Bobbi said, leaning forward to watch.

"I'm glad," she said. "I'd never be able to let Creed live if he'd wrecked that."

"I'm not planning on letting him live regardless, but I get the sentiment," Bobbi said with a small smirk as the broadcast continued to play the footage of the four members of Team Awesome joking around — Kate and Kurt wrapped up together — a brief training session. All of it with Peter's totally earnest and hilariously worded commentary on how they weren't being used, thankyouverymuch, but thanks for the concern.

"Ridiculous boy," Viper said, chuckling. "Not being used — while he's being used in a poor attempt to prove otherwise."

"It'll be enough for feeble-minded sheep in the districts," Bobbi pointed out. "The popularity is there — and the childlike innocence. They don't know they're being used, so they can sound entirely honest in claiming that they aren't."

"There is some good that's come of this, though," Viper said with a widening smile.

"Yeah?"

"Our little hero can be swayed into twisting public opinion."

Bobbi paused and thought over that pronouncement, her gaze on the screen even after the broadcast had ended. "If you know how to motivate him," she allowed at last.

"When I have it all lined up, you can help."

Bobbi allowed herself a small grin for just a moment. Viper would see it as excitement over the prospect, but she was just glad to hear she would be involved enough to let Fury know the plan — or let Fury know how to stop them if it came down to it.

"Sounds like you have it planned out," Bobbi said.

"Oh, absolutely," she agreed with a purr. "The matter has been settled on for months now. Simply a matter of timing."

Bobbi laughed. "It must be solid if the plan hasn't changed in that long. Sounds interesting."

"It's perfectly solid," Viper agreed. "And inescapable."

"I don't believe in inescapable," Bobbi said thoughtfully.

"You'll just have to wait and see then," Viper replied. "Don't worry. You'll have front row seats."

"If you can prove me wrong ... I'd be interested to see that for myself," Bobbi agreed.

"On my _honor_ , it will be memorable."

* * *

 _April 11_

 _Tahiti Training Room_

* * *

Natasha had just wrapped up a briefing with Fury, and she had a few hours to get prepared before she was scheduled to head out, but she still made it a point to stop by the training room. She was only slightly surprised to see that Clint was the one sparring with Logan today, though she wasn't surprised in the least that Logan was there sparring with someone new.

He was going through most of the older kids, testing them out. It was just a matter of math to figure out what was going on. Team X was down one member; Logan was sparring with guys that could handle being heavies. It wasn't hard.

She watched the match for a moment, arms folded, leaning against the wall. Clint was a good sparring partner, but he wasn't as good at hand-to-hand as he should have been. Swords, archery, she'd take him with her any day. But weaponless? ...Well, she still would, but that was different.

"Don't break my hawk," she called out to Logan with a small smirk when Logan got Clint in a pin, his arm cranked back — though since Clint had almost a foot on Logan, it was almost entertaining watching him hold it as Clint tried to twist around to break free.

"We're just havin' a little fun," Logan called back.

"I'll still blame you if there's a scratch on him when I get back."

"That's not fair," Logan laughed. "He wakes up with new scratches and dings."

"I didn't say it was fair," Natasha replied, the smirk still in place.

"Well, if you're gonna blame me for his own nature, I'm gonna go ahead and kick his tires real good."

"Do I get a say? In any of this?" Clint asked from the floor.

"No," they both answered at once.

"Typical," Clint muttered before he finally reached around and tapped out. "You going somewhere, Nat?"

"Long mission," she said with a nod. "I don't have an end date."

"Need any backup?" Clint asked.

"If I did, I'd ask," she replied. She uncrossed her arms and straightened up as she turned to leave.

"Yeah, but _who_ would you ask?"

"Depends on the backup needed," she said. She glanced over to see the look of betrayal and shook her head. "Shut up, Barton; you know you're good for most of what I run when it's not a solo anyway."

"I'm amazing for _everything_."

"You're really not," Logan argued.

"And I prefer my best friend in one piece so I can beat him in sparring when I get home," Natasha said with a soft smile.

"He'll be here waiting, far as I'm concerned," Logan said, waving both of them off as he headed out. "If he hurts himself, or dings his ass up, it won't be my fault."

"I'll hold you to that," Natasha said, and she was honestly serious about it enough that it had Clint raising an eyebrow for just a moment before she shook her head at him.

As Logan passed her, he made a point to lean her way for just a second. "I'm not interested in your boyfriend. Don't need a sniper."

"He's taken, but thanks all the same."

"Sure he is," Logan said with a crooked smile. "By _you_."

Natasha turned toward him with an honestly annoyed look on her face. "You and the other victors need to communicate better."

"That's probably a general rule, to be honest."

"Then next time you see Bobbi, ask her about Clint."

"Yeah, seeing as she's hanging out with Viper, and she doesn't understand what any part of 'no' means, I ain't talkin' to her any time soon."

"Well, don't let that color your taking care of my idiot best friend," she teased. "Even if he does have horrible, poisonous tastes."

"Could ask how that reflects on you, seein' as he's so possessive of you." Logan smiled a little wider and slipped around the corner before she could react properly.

* * *

There had been in the Capitol what was politely called a "reshuffling" of personnel in the circles of people who still used polite euphemisms in the middle of a three-sided war.

For those closest to Thanos and Ronan, what it meant was a lot of desperately hoping not to be called into either office for any reason whatsoever, as there was only a chance in a thousand of coming out alive again. Guards, Sentinels, techs, engineers — even Thanos' personal secretary. Gone.

Ronan had a few shiny new lieutenants, men with itchy trigger fingers who looked like they were aching to prove themselves and who were either willfully ignorant of their expected lifespans or just didn't care. A new captain of the prison guard who looked like he was scared to do anything so much as blink too long. The hovercraft hangar was being completely demolished and relocated. Engineers working on emergency overrides. Thanos' paranoia was in full swing.

And he had a new secretary — a slight, mousy woman with black hair in a sort of bowl cut that might have been attractive on a woman much older than she was, though she seemed to be in her twenties, give or take. She was quiet and efficient and never once talked back to her superiors, though she could be seen to cringe slightly under anything like a shouted command. She was capable and quiet and easily frightened— and therefore easily controlled. When she was presented with her desk and told exactly how her predecessor had been killed — slowly — she had gone sort of pale before she nodded and stepped into the task, and Thanos had never once seen her forget even the slightest detail since she stepped in. And despite the propensity for shrinking away from her superiors, she didn't seem to hesitate when she was asked to call in some of the workers Ronan knew had been in her office. She didn't object to their terminations, so they could use her.

The young woman had a ruthless sort of efficiency, which was probably what had kept her alive for so long.

She sat calmly in the area outside of Thanos' office, her desk arranged so that she could see the nervous line of people who at any given moment were waiting to speak to the president. She didn't look up at any of them, instead focusing on the president's schedule and managing his time, and learning the systems.

And behind an image inducer, Natasha Romanoff looked for the best way to set up her uplink of the president's schedule. She wouldn't be able to do it so soon after her new promotion, but she already knew what relays to set up, what back doors Stark had shown her to look for. It would be a simple thing ... hopefully. A few days' time, and Fury would have a copy of Thanos' personal schedule and plans every morning before little Natalie Rushman had her morning tea at her desk.

* * *

 _April 14_

 _Somewhere Outside of District Seven_

* * *

Clara Creed had seen enough of Tahiti while she was in it to know that the boy on the Hydra transmission was not in the Tahiti program when she went through. And she knew that to be fact, because had he been there? She would have killed him. He was a creep. And frankly, she didn't like the way he talked to girls, and she definitely didn't like the way he talked to her. So there was no way she'd have simply _missed_ that creep.

When she thought about it, it was extra irritating, because she knew that Scott was supposed to be the last — or nearly the last. And she knew they'd saved the poisoned cases for last, so that meant Rumlow was _not_ on the list. She frowned to herself when she thought about it, so she tried not to think about it too much.

But after she saw Logan and his old alliance on the SHIELD broadcast, she just got bugged. About a lot. At SHIELD for one, because she knew there was no way in hell that he knew about those guys. And it got her pacing. Wondering why the hell any of them were working for SHIELD when they'd been blatantly _lied to_ for so long.

She chewed on her lip as she thought it over and got more mad before she decided her course of action. She had to find out who else Hydra had, get them out, and shove them into the director's face somehow to ask how the hell that could have even happened.

She still wasn't sure _how_ she was going to do that … but she was going to. She grabbed her coat off the nail on the wall in the little cabin she'd found and whistled on her way out the door. She was halfway down the little trail with her hands in her pockets when the big grey timberwolf ran up behind her and kept pace with her all the way down the trail.

She was nearly to where there was a small settlement when the wolf began to growl, and she rested her hand on the top of the wolf's head, silencing her furry companion. "We need a ride," she told the wolf before they slipped around the outskirts to look for something they could hijack.


	42. Blackout and Black Ops

**Chapter 42: Blackout and Black Ops**

* * *

 _April 17_

 _District Nine_

* * *

Coulson was still sending the awesomes out on lowball missions, followed by Fitz' little robots with cameras mounted on them so that they could show Marvel what the team was up to and display their fighting ex-tributes. But while the novelty had been fun at first, it was starting to wear a little thin.

They were supposed to go to Nine to chase off a small contingent of Sentinels, and they were honestly not the least bit concerned about it. First of all, because Nine had such strong support for the rebellion that the people of Nine could almost handle it on their own. Second of all, because the Sentinels had needed to pass through two districts to get there and were already worn. And third of all, because it was the kind of mission that Coulson made them prep with the stylists for, so it _had_ to be easy.

Still, Kurt was in a good mood going back to his home district. And since they'd be going in without masks, he was looking forward to _really_ going home, even if just about everyone he cared about was in the SHIELD base anyway. It was the thought that counted.

The three of them got out of the transport a little further out from the district itself to set up. If they could, they wanted to stop the Sentinels before the population had to deal with them, and again, they really weren't that concerned about it.

Right up until Kate, binoculars in hand, said, "I thought there were only supposed to be a few dozen."

That had both Peter and Kurt glancing at each other as Kurt pulled out both swords and Peter readied his web shooters. Peter also reached for his comm to call back to Coulson that their intel was bad — but right at that moment, every single one of Fitz' robots dropped out of the air, clattering to the ground around them.

"Okay," Kate said slowly, her eyes narrowed as she picked up one of the robots and put it in her quiver. "This looks bad."

Their comms had gone out as well from whatever had just happened, and Peter swallowed as he looked Kurt's way. "So, this is new."

"We'll fight them anyway," Kurt said with a little nod.

"And win," Kate chimed in, already moving past them and picking out her best angles. Nine was flat, so there weren't many places that she could perch up high, but she had her sidearm — the one that Bobbi had always insisted she take with her back when she was allowed in Tahiti — and she had her boys, so that particular problem was, in her opinion, not worth worrying over.

The first of the Sentinels showed their faces at a range Peter and Kurt could see long after Kate had started firing at them, and the boys both had to frown when they saw that Kate was right — there were much more Sentinels than they were prepared for.

As both boys rushed forward to meet the advancing soldiers, they felt the loss of their comms keenly. Usually, Kate would call out the movement patterns, or places that one or both of them needed to go to fight through a knot of bad guys. And Peter and Kurt would take out the soldiers with distance weapons to free up Kate to do just that — which they still did, but the loss of their Hawkeye was still frustrating nonetheless.

But the real issue was simply a matter of numbers, as Peter took a punch to the jaw that sent him reeling sideways, and when Kurt moved in to help his friend, he lost the advantage he had been pressing — and nearly lost his second sword as well. Which would have been bad enough if not for the fact that there was a low sort of buzzing, and suddenly, Peter realized what it was.

"Hey, I though all the tech got knocked out?" he called out to Kurt.

Kurt finished running through the two Sentinels nearest him and turned Peter's way for just a moment with an inquisitive look before his hand went to his shoulder, and he tried the comms again — still nothing. "It did," he called back.

Peter frowned harder at that response, turning toward the source of the buzzing until he spotted it again: a camera, the same kind of design that the Capitol had used in the Games. Someone was watching them — and whoever it was, the tech blackout wasn't affecting them, which meant they were probably the ones who caused it.

But that wasn't actually at the top of Peter's list of things to care about, he had to admit. He was a little more concerned with the small army that he and his team were trying to take on. That was just slightly more distracting.

A couple Sentinels who looked like they might have been trying to take advantage of Peter's distraction went down with arrows in their necks, and Peter would have been a lot more grateful if he hadn't noticed the panel in the armor of one of the Sentinels — with an ominously blinking blue light.

"Nope," Peter said, out loud, before he simply _ran_ as fast as he could and halfway tackled Kurt to the ground, just barely avoiding getting himself stabbed in the process. Kurt had only just started to form the question to ask what Peter was _doing_ when the explosion went off, and both of them covered their heads.

Their suits were flame-retardant, but the heat of the explosion was intense enough that Peter could smell the slightly charred hair in his nose more than anything else, and when both of them picked their heads up to take stock of each other, both of them had to exchange little rueful looks. The ends of their hair were smoky.

Some of the Sentinels seemed a little shaken by the explosion, though Peter heard the guy in charge reminding his men that their orders were to capture or kill and to get on with it, so the Sentinels redoubled their efforts. Which was more than a little overwhelming to a couple of boys with burnt hair and a serious lack of numbers.

Kurt was all but spinning through the Sentinels with both swords going, and Peter was pulling out some of his best moves, webbing up Sentinels to knock their heads together and jamming weapons — and blue explosive buttons — with webbing as well.

But about the time that Peter ran out of web fluid — including _all_ of his backup reserves — the boys were joined by Kate, who had run out of arrows as well. She hadn't quite managed to fight her way over to them just yet, but it was the first they had seen of her in the battle, and Peter definitely noticed that Kurt looked relieved to see that she was still alright.

Still, with Kate out of arrows and Peter out of web fluid, all three of them knew that they couldn't keep this up.

Peter managed to throw a Sentinel over his shoulder when the guy came in for a grab, but when he spun to take on the next one, he was met with a rifle pointed right in his face, and he froze, eyes wide — right up until the guy went crumpling to the ground.

Peter glanced around to try and find whoever had taken the Sentinel out, but he didn't have to _see_ her when he heard Agent May's voice over the comm — which was finally working again, apparently.

"This is what happens when you drop out of contact?" she asked, and even if she was joking, it was clear to anyone listening that she had been honestly worried.

"Wasn't _our_ fault," Peter replied, and May made a little noise at the back of her throat.

"I'm making you an exit. Take it. Now."

Peter wasn't about to argue with the woman Skye and her friends described as the Cavalry, so he did just that — and spun to find that there was, in fact, a path. He and Kurt didn't hesitate to rush that way, relieved to be out of that trouble. May met them both with several rebels from Nine — who had apparently already rescued Kate, if the fact that she was waving at them and looking annoyed at being taken out of the action was any indication.

With the addition of the rebel forces — and with the Sentinels unable to get the captures or kills that they needed — it wasn't long before the Sentinels were routed, though long before it was over, May made a point to pull the team aside.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"They knocked out all our tech," Peter defended.

"It wasn't just the comms; Fitz' robots go hit too," Kate said, taking out the one she had salvaged from her quiver.

May frowned as she took the robot from Kate's hands and seemed to think it over for a long moment. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, the Sentinels had working cameras," Peter piped up. "I spotted one while we were fighting."

"And this was when the comms were still down?" May asked, one eyebrow raised.

Peter nodded. "They had the only working tech in the game."

May's frown only deepened at that, and she simply started to shepherd the lot of them toward the transport. "Then the Capitol has a new toy. We can ask the lab techs about it when we get back, but right now—"

"Yeah, get moving, we know," Kate said, nodding along.

"I think they were trying to get video of our horrible, horrible defeat," Peter admitted, which had May pausing despite the pressing need to leave.

"What?"

"Yeah, I heard the Sentinels' orders," Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It was a capture-or-kill mission."

May looked shocked for a moment before she got control of the expression and herded them onto the transport to get them in the air. "Right," she muttered. " _That's_ not going to happen."

* * *

 _Tahiti Training Room_

* * *

Logan had nearly gone through all of the older members of TAHITI twice over — at least — and he'd narrowed his choices down substantially.

As much as he liked sparring with Natasha, this simply wasn't a job she was fit for. She was a good hand-to-hand fighter and a solid go-to for just about every weapon out there — but the position he needed filled really was one that needed muscle in addition to all of that.

Luke Cage was easily a better boxer than Logan was, but he fell short of using dirty tricks, and he wasn't exactly thrilled with the concept of all that Weapon X did. Recovery, relocation, procuring of items — all of that was fine for Luke. But assassinations and general skullduggery was a little too much.

Clint was actually an excellent choice, except for the fact that he was crap up close without a sword, and he didn't seem to really grasp the concept of 'silent footfalls'. Logan tried, albeit briefly, to work him through it — but for as flexible as Clint was, he just didn't move that way. He tried, but it wasn't easy for him at _all._

Most of the other bigger guys in there were all pilots. And he really didn't need a pilot. Harry was amazing, and he had no plans to replace him any time soon.

So that meant that Logan's choices were to go with someone outside of Tahiti — or to try another round with Wilson.

He'd had it in his mind to just walk away if the lunatic wasn't alone and try out the guys that Fury had outside the program. But Wade was there, by himself, freshly warmed up from his katana routine — which … was pretty damned impressive, even if it was completely wrong by the way Logan's swordmaster had taught him.

Logan took a deep, slow breath and steeled himself to the job. He'd been avoiding Wade simply due to his incredibly _affectionate_ nature. The morning hugs from out of nowhere, the random kisses on the cheek since he'd been in Tahiti wing … or more irritating, the week solid that he brought Logan and Skye coffee in bed. Logan hadn't cared, of course, but Skye really hadn't gotten over anyone knowing that she might possibly be not entirely clothed.

He didn't get all the way to Wade before the tall young man waved his direction with a broad smile. "Oh! Hey! Hi there, Wolveroonie! Are you going to try to act like i don't exist again, or do I get to play for a change?"

Logan tried to ignore the name — it was different every single time — and nodded. "Yeah. Lil' bit overdue that we spar for a bit, don't you think?"

Wade squealed in excitement, bouncing in place and starting to talk a hundred miles a minute as he rolled his shoulders and squared off with him. There was no way Wade could keep it up at that pace and fight too, right?

The fight started far more aggressively than the other spars had, and Wade, though not as skilled in hand-to-hand as Natasha was, had a lot more power behind his hits — and he was relentless. The guy was good.

When the spar was over, and Wade was winded — though Logan wasn't sure if it was due to the fight or the fact that he'd never shut up for more than to take a breath the entire time — it was just … too close to call.

"That was _fun!_ " Wade said with a wide grin as he threw his arm around Logan's shoulders. "We should do this again!"

"Yeah, we should," Logan agreed, and Wade froze as Logan continued walking. "This afternoon — meet me in the Danger Room. I got a sim I'd like to run with you."

Wade grinned wider, and when Logan was cleared of the training room, he started to dance all the way to the locker room.

* * *

The Danger Room session was one that Wade had never seen before — not that he was overly surprised by that. There were new programs put in every day. But in this program, the two of them were joined by two more black-clad holograms ... that looked suspiciously like they belonged to Weapon X.

They hadn't quite started it yet when Wade frowned and turned Logan's way. "What is this?" What are you doing here?" he asked, walking around the still hard light holograms with a critical eye. "Are you … are you _recruiting?_ "

"If this sim runs well, and you're interested," Logan admitted before he let out a breath and laid it out on the table. "Creed was the guy that watched my six. He did a shit job of it, and unsurprisingly, I don't really trust most of my team. I wanna change that, if I can."

Wade stared at him from a moment from over the shoulder of the lanky black-clad operative before he started to grin. Logan shook his head and called out for the sim to get started — and just like that, they were off.

The sim was one that emulated one of Weapon X's assaults on the head of Nova Corps' offices. It had been a bloody, miserable battle, but ultimately one that the team had walked away from. The program was designed to force Wade to take on all that Creed had — and watch Logan's back on top of it — and to Logan's surprise, Wade did an amazingly good job.

But when it was over, and the two of them were climbing through the wreckage on the way to the exit, Wade was acting a little … off.

"Hey. You have any trouble out there?" Logan asked.

"Um. No?" Wade said, looking like he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Cause you're covered in blood and guts, and you look like you're turning a little green."

"Are you going to lecture me on keeping a tough line?" Wade asked. "Because, I assure you, sir—"

"Cut the crap; you know what I'm talking about," Logan said. "I'm asking you to go from nice, easy missions that stay in the light over to nothing but blood and murder and espionage. It's not nice. But it has to be done."

"That's touching," Wade said dryly. "But I can handle whatever you and your super secret death squad is handing out."

"You know, everyone here thinks you're nuts. But I know — I _know_ you ain't as crazy as you pretend. I'm not saying you're not nuts, but you can keep it together when you have to. When you want to," Logan told him.

There was silence between them for a good long while as Wade let it sink in. "And what ... I'm your last choice?" he asked at last, finally putting the words to what he was thinking. "Or ... is it because Fury asked you to get me?"

"Fury asked me to pick who I wanted to watch my back. Told me to pick someone I can trust. If you want the job, it's yours. I think I can trust you to do what needs to be done — and cover my ass. All I ask is that if you take the job — don't make me regret it." With that, Logan left Wade to think it over, though he really didn't get too far out before Wade called out to him.

"I'll do it," Wade shouted. "I'll be your wingman if that's what you need." He was grinning by the time he was done, and Logan nodded.

"Great. I'll let Fury know," Logan said. "Then I'll take you down to get fitted for some better armor."

When Wade left the Danger Room, he didn't even go to change … and seemed to float down to where Cassie was crocheting with a cup of coffee nearby. He dropped into the seat next to her looking totally shellshocked.

She had grinned at him when he joined her, but she did a sort of double-take on seeing his expression. "What's up?"

He turned her way, still grinning like an idiot, grabbed her head with both hands, and kissed her full on the mouth. "They're finally admitting that I have _skills._ "

Cassie laughed at that. "Well, duh. I thought they already knew that!"

"Well, if they did, it took my sorority brother to make them truly bring it to light," Wade said, still grinning madly as he leaned forward to whisper, " _He totally gets me."_

Cassie shook her head, still laughing at his antics. "Which one is that? I know Clint's your death-twinsie or whatever…"

"Oh no, no, no, no, no … no." Wade took a breath and kept shaking his head. " _Logan_ is my sorority brother. I understand your confusion, though."

Cassie kissed his cheek. "I do _try_ to keep up," she teased. "So ... what did Logan do that's got you all…" She grinned and gestured at him with one hand.

"We had the _best_ day," Wade said before he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a one-armed hug. "We sparred. And … then we sparred some more … and then … we had a play date in the danger room that was all _kinds_ of squishy and snuggly stuff. Though... I might still have a lil' ick on me from that … sorry 'bout that, puddin' pop."

"I'm used to it," she teased. "My boyfriend, the assassin."

"Yes," he said touching the side of his nose. "That. Exactly that." He whispered the rest of it to her. "They're trading me up to the big leagues."

"Oh really?" She leaned in even closer. "You're leaving us behind?" she asked with just enough pretended betrayal and wide eyes to make it almost believable.

"Well…." Wade hedged. "I don't know all the details. Just that it's his team. So .. he picked who he wanted to watch his back. I'm sure if he's running other missions with the kids here, I can too. And I'm like... totally sure that Coulson isn't letting him over to the main building again. You know. To sleep. Or whatever. And there are space heater duties to be attended to. That's … well. That's like totally critical to later plot lines."

"So…" She shook her head, trying to sort it out. Sometimes, she could follow Wade's rambling explanations, but other times...

"So it's finally happening," he said. "All the things are starting to … fall into place. Oh, it's going to be so much better now."

"Well, at least _that's_ good to hear," she said with a smile. "Does that mean we'll win soon?"

"Oh," Wade said, laughing to himself. "No. NO. Not anytime soon. We will win, and there will be some awful, but so many _more,_ better things …."

"That's life." She had to laugh and kiss his cheek. "You're just literally describing _life_. Falling a little short of your usual predictive powers."

"Well that's because I don't want to spoil it, but this promotion is going to be so good."

"Then I'm glad," she said with a little nod. "Especially if it puts you in such a smiley mood. You haven't been this giggly since our last birthdays."

"He said he _trusted_ me," Wade told her.

Cassie stared at him for a moment as she watched his expression, suddenly realizing in a second just _why_ he was grinning, and she had to kiss him hard for it. "That's _awesome_."

* * *

Logan was on his way to find Fury — it was time that he made his opinion known on the team, now that he knew Wade was on board, anyhow. But as he passed Coulson's office, the briefing room next door to it opened up, and his old alliance poured themselves into the hallway. Kurt and Peter were reeking of smoke, and Logan had to stop and take a step back.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked with a little frown as he took in their battered appearance. "I thought you were just … shooting a thing."

"Oh yeah," Peter said, nodding seriously. "We are movie stars, for sure. Only for the totally wrong cameras."

"You guys okay, or do I need to go kill someone?" Logan asked.

Kurt shook his head. "We're fine," he assured him. "We just weren't expecting to deal with an entire division of Sentinels at once."

"Don't worry; May already did the riding to the rescue thing when our comms went out," Kate assured him.

"Oh, I'm not talking riding to the rescue," Logan said. "I'm talking revenge."

"Well, unless you know who came up with the thingy that knocked out all our tech while the Capitol tech was working just fine…" Peter said.

At that, Logan tipped his head slightly. "Wait, what? What's that all about — they blacked you out?"

The three kids glanced at each other and then nodded. "Fitz's robots, the comms, everything stopped working," Kate explained. "But the Sentinels had cameras in, trying to record either our deaths or our capture, apparently."

"Selective blackout," Logan said, nodding to himself. "That could be handy."

"Would be nice if we knew how. They must have something that protects _their_ tech, and if we could copy it…" Peter was nodding along as well. "That would be _so_ cool."

"Yeah, copy it," Logan replied with a smirk. "Sounds about right."

"Well, we'd want to make it _better_. Obv-iously," Peter said, shaking his head at Logan.

"No one hurt?" he asked. "Because I'm headed to see Fury, so I can set something up."

"Nothing serious," Kurt assured him. "Bumps, bruises, cuts — the usual, really."

"And I already shot the guy who pulled my hair, so I beat you to it," Kate added helpfully.

Logan nodded and looked them over carefully. "Who was your debrief with?"

"Coulson," Kate said. "Coulson usually handles it unless it's a big push, then it's Hill."

He nodded and turned slightly to change direction. Coulson … was no help for what he needed. "Then I'll catch you in a little while."

But Logan had barely passed the briefing room door when May came out of it. She paused on seeing him and crossed her arms. "The no-sling look is a good one," she teased.

"Yeah, so I'm told," he replied. "Wasn't my call, or there'd be a lot more dead guys out there." He barely slowed down, fully intending to blow her off and keep going.

"If you're going after the blackout device, you should talk to Skye first. She might know how to find it."

"I don't know if I am," he admitted. "I have to talk to Fury about something else."

"If you're not, let me know. I'd like to find it myself," May said. "I had to pick up after that mission."

"You can come with me and find out if I've got anything fun to do," he said.

"We'll draw straws for the best assignment," May smirked.

"Twenty bucks says he sends me — and you get to drop me off," Logan replied.

She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't count when you're teacher's pet."

"I didn't say I'd _ask_ for it."

"You really don't have to," she said, sounding resigned to it already.

"What makes you think it's a done deal?" he asked.

"Experience," she replied with a little smile. "Should I bother going with — or should I just prep the jet?"

"Well, I guess that depends on intel. They think I'm outta the game, so—"

She smirked. "Let's find out."

The two of them made the rest of the walk in relative silence, and when they got to Fury's office, the director was sitting back in his chair watching Skye rant in total frustration about the blackout device. It was clear right off the bat he was glad for a change in subject. "Did you make a decision yet?" he called out as soon as he saw Logan.

"Yeah. Wilson," Logan replied without missing a beat. "What's going on here? Meeting of the minds?"

"I was just saying — the Capitol has this new toy, and I _need_ to get a hold of it," Skye said, her arms crossed, clearly annoyed about it. "I can't figure out how to combat it, and it's screwing with… everything I'm trying to do. Can't broadcast through the dead zones, and I can't _trace_ anything in a dead zone…"

"So what do you need, exactly?" Logan asked, not sure if Skye realized what exactly was happening just then.

"I need whatever they're using. It's not just a code or an algorithm, or Stark and I would have found it by now. It has to be something physical. A device. And I can't fight it until I understand how it works," she admitted.

He nodded and looked between Fury and May to see who was going to make the call. "How much of that footage of his alliance do you have that hasn't been aired?" Fury asked. "Or, more specifically, do you have any camera time with our wounded team member here that we could send out?"

"I have plenty of extra footage of them interacting," Skye said with a nod. "I was planning to start the next wave of introductions, but I can throw up more Team Awesome easily."

"Any idea what this device might look like — or where they may be keeping it?" Fury asked.

She reached into a pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a few scraps of paper that had Tony Stark's scrawled handwriting all over them. "Stark had a few ideas. So did Forge. Best guess would be you can find one of these any place the Capitol thinks they have a shot of getting footage of the kids — specifically killing them. Big Sentinel strongholds. High-value targets."

Logan took a few steps forward and looked at the drawings over Fury's shoulder before Fury nodded. "What do you need, Agent May? Ten? Fifteen?" Fury asked.

"Ten," May said.

Fury nodded and turned to Logan. "You have newer, stronger, lighter armor waiting for you in the usual place. You'll go in black."

Logan just nodded and made for the side exit from Fury's office, past a smirking May.

"Wait." Skye frowned Fury's way. "What?"

"Your footage has everyone in the country thinking that his arm is still broken and that he's down for the count," Fury said. "No one, and I mean _no one,_ is going to be looking for him to sneak in and do _anything._ "

She blinked at him for a second before she nodded. "Right. Just. Okay. Briefings usually have a place. Or, like, a time frame.."

"Not all of them do," Fury pointed out. "And certainly not all of his."

"Extraction?" she asked.

Fury just looked at her with a blank expression.

"Right." She shook her head and gathered up the papers from Tony. "Let me know when he gets back — I need that device," she said with a little glare.

"Keep an eye on the airwaves," Fury said. "If our boy performs to his usual standards, we'll know one way or another when he gets it."

"That much is true." She sighed and headed for the door. "I'll let you know as soon as we've figured out how to counter the thing."


	43. Sneaky, Sneaky

**Chapter 43: Sneaky, Sneaky**

* * *

 _April 19_

 _Near the Capitol_

* * *

Logan had been out on his own for over two days when he finally got into the really fun part. It was pitch black out, and he'd been creeping through one warehouse after another, silent as the shadows around him as the various groups of guards and soldiers gathered below. The one little bit of tech he had brought with him was planted six blocks away on a timer with a recorded message set to sound like someone attempting to infiltrate the inner circle of the Capitol.

He had found the perfect vantage point near a window where he could simply wait and watch for the device to activate. That was how Stark had it written up on that stupid drawing anyhow. That one of those stupid-looking gadgets was going to light up like Christmas morning as soon as a rogue signal broke the airwaves.

He checked his watch in the moonlight and settled back in … any minute.

When it went off, it really was easy to spot … the warehouse filled with the recorded message, and just as the tech team had said, the device — about the size of a brick — lit up and projected a map with a set of coordinates.

Everyone below him in the warehouse began to move all at once — rifles, full armor … and it looked like canisters of tear gas. The Capitol was tired of the rebels playing in their backyard.

When the bulk of the soldiers had cleared the warehouse, he began the second part of his mission. He'd found it … now to disable and … steal it.

He crept back through the rafters and slipped down to where the power went into the warehouse. As soon as he pulled the main breaker, he dropped down and made a hustle for the device, hoping that it didn't have some alternate power source that he couldn't disable.

He had to fight through a handful of Sentinels on his way, but when he got there, it seemed like a fairly simple power source.

He pulled the thing in half, and a glowing green centerpiece fell out. He shoved the whole works in a bag and started to make his move to slip out. He'd only gotten two blocks when the alarm rose.

* * *

Skye had been watching the airwaves for two days — not just because she was trying to keep track of her part of the job but because that was _her_ Logan out there, and he didn't have an extraction plan.

The second she'd mentioned that — the lack of an extraction — to Kurt, she suddenly found herself with an entire small army of support. Everyone was keeping an eye out for her guy, ready to steal a jet (Ororo volunteered to fly) and go get him if need be.

So when she spotted the alert over the Capitol airwaves, she had to grin to herself.

When Kitty, who had been helping her comb the airwaves, saw the grin, she leaned over. "What have you got?"

"Mystery disturbance in the Capitol. No planes anywhere near it, No supporting forces … and they can't find the source."

Kitty chuckled lightly. "Sounds like your guy."

* * *

Logan had managed to get well away from the warehouse by the time the party really started up, but it wasn't a simple matter of rushing out and disappearing. Not with as populated as that section of the Capitol was.

He'd evaded their cameras, very aware of each one's placement and estimating their scope as he hid from one spot to the next, but there were still the search parties to consider. He tucked into a small, stepped-in section of a garden wall as a platoon passed him by. He kept his head down and his face covered with his black gloved hand as they passed.

His next move was simple — get out. _Without_ using the exits that they'd been utilizing in their most recent missions.

Search lights were combing the night sky, and in the distance he heard dogs barking — another sure sign that the Capitol was done playing nice. He slipped into a house and found a way out the upper window and onto the roof. For the time being, rooftop to rooftop would hopefully break up the scent trail at least.

Travel was slow; he had to be careful not to wake the residents or alert them to his presence while dodging the searchlights scanning the skies. It wouldn't do to get captured now.

He managed to time his landings with the small concussion grenades that the Sentinels were tossing into the dark corners and hidden spots street level. He smirked to himself; it was crystal clear that they had no idea where he was.

He lucked out and found an empty house near the next wall around half an hour before dawn. The nighttime jumps and leaps were coming to an end for the time being. Now, the hard part: finding a spot to hide that wouldn't be searched before nightfall.

* * *

The kids in Tahiti were all spread out in various locations keeping track of Logan's mission — because they had plenty of people with the know-how to keep up with the Capitol broadcasts, and it was easier if they weren't all crowded in one place around one monitor.

Of course, Peter had been up late working with Gwen on trying to figure out the blackout device — neither of them were patient enough to wait, and the whole idea was so fascinating that they couldn't help but stay up for hours excited over the possibilities. So when he stumbled into the tech lab, he was groggy. Staying up this late twice in a row was really cutting into his beauty rest.

Peter slid over so that he was leaning on folded elbows on half of Tony's workspace. "What'sgonon?" he slurred tiredly.

Tony smirked. "They still haven't found your friend. I should really be recording this. I thought I knew all the insults in the world, but there are some new and exciting possibilities from these Sentinels."

"Sounds nice for you." Peter slid forward some more. He didn't look properly impressed — or awake — so Tony decided to spell it out for him.

"It's unbelievable. It's been," Tony checked the clock on the wall "Nearly four hours and … nothing. The device they've been using to scramble communication is gone. Just … poof. They've got dogs running the street … the whole nine... and not a trace of where it went, or who did it."

"Wait, what?" Peter blinked at him, suddenly decidedly more awake. "That's… what?"

Tony smirked and gestured for Peter to take a seat. "Have a look-see. It's quality television, if nothing else. Your stabby friend is driving them nuts.

"Yeah, he's really good at that," Peter agreed, sliding into the seat as Tony wound back the tape so Peter could get the whole picture — with the live feed on a different monitor in case anything new came in.

* * *

The dogs had finally been put away a few hours after dawn as the Capitol woke up around Logan where he was tucked in to hide. All around the city, people were discussing the events of the night before as Logan settled in for the short term. He didn't have much to work with as far as daytime travel, and he still had to get through the outer level of the Capitol. He kept away from the windows and tried to rest a bit — though there was no way he was going to sleep while the hunt for him was so hot. .

He needed to get moving and put some distance between him and the center of the Capitol once dark fell again.

* * *

By that point, nobody in Tahiti was even pretending that they weren't wrapped up in the broadcasts, and even the resident stylists had joined in the group. Everyone was within a few feet of a screen at all times.

Jubilee had Noh's hand half crushed in hers as she watched the monitors, and he was watching _her_ out of the side of his gaze. She had been nearly this tense during the Games, too — though then, the stakes had been entirely different.

"There's no reason to worry," Noh whispered into her hair.

"Oh, I know," she said with a bit of heat to her tone. "They haven't found him yet; they're not gonna. I just — I'm just gonna hit him when he gets back for giving me heart failure."

He had to smile at that and hold her around the waist as he nestled deeper into her hair. "Yes, of course. How dare he do such a thing to you."

She rolled her eyes for a moment, but with how late it was, she wasn't going to fight having a teddy bear either, so she wrapped his arms a little tighter around her as he started to drift off on her shoulder while everyone was still keeping half an eye on the broadcast.

* * *

The day was long when you compounded a couple days of no sleep and paranoia on top of each other.

From the shadows in the room, it looked to Logan like he still had a few hours before it would be anywhere near safe for him to venture outside, so it was particularly alarming when he heard a commotion from just down the block. He crept up to the window silently and peeked outside to see a Sentinel at the house across the street and another at the one next door. Behind them, in the street, stood half a dozen more, armed to the teeth as they pushed their way into the houses. He swore to himself and counted how long it took them to search.

Just under two minutes.

He'd just made the calculation when he heard the knock on the door downstairs. He crossed the space from one end of the room to the other in three strides and peeked out the window on the back of the house. The Sentinels outside hadn't yet made it around to the back of the house next door, so he slipped out the window and crawled on the roof, flattening himself where there was a crevice and crossing his fingers that they didn't look up.

He could hear them talking below him, complaining about the mission they'd been sent out to do.

Already, his super sneaky routine had started to work on the mental condition of the men searching for him.

They'd started coming up with explanations for what had happened, and already, some of the Sentinels or soldiers that had raised Thanos' suspicions on their loyalty were being questioned in Ronan's torture chamber. That didn't sound like a friendly work environment. Get results or get tortured.

It did nothing to ease his mind — particularly when his foot began to slip from where he needed it to stay to keep himself on the roof. To fall now from the second story would basically be turning himself in. He held his breath, as if that would help, and watched as he slowly slid closer to the edge.

Just when he was sure he was going to fall, the all-clear came over the radio below on one the two men's belts, and the pair of them abandoned their search and headed back toward the front of the building.

He leaned his head back against the shingles of the roof and allowed himself to slide just enough that he caught himself and slipped back in the window.

As long as they didn't double back, or send in dogs, he'd be fine for a little while longer...

But as darkness finally fell across the Capitol, Logan gathered himself up and double checked that all was in order. He knew that the Sentinels would be out in force, and that there would be new trouble … he just wasn't sure what exactly that would mean until he saw it.

He double-checked his weapons and shook his head. Six magazines left. And his back up. But it was pretty clear that he shouldn't bust out the claws unless he wanted the attention that they would bring.

As soon as it was properly dark, he slipped out of the back door of the house and started to weave his way further from the center of the city. He'd made it maybe ten blocks when sirens started echoing around him. "What fresh hell is this?" He muttered as, again, the lights began searching the skies, and the sound of marching Sentinels started echoing the streets. "All this for little ol' me," he whispered as he launched himself over a fence. It was getting ridiculous. Was the stupid device really worth that much? Or had he failed to evade a camera?

He crouched down on the other side of the fence, and the flickering light of the television inside the house caught his attention. He crept closer to see what was going on — the images on the screen showing the level of force being unleashed. Had he been able to speak freely, he likely would have whistled low, but with the dogs again baying, that didn't seem like a smart move.

He was just about to move on when he saw his own face on the screen — a stolen image from Skye's broadcast — but they were actually on the right track. He frowned and again checked that his weapons were in order. The side arm could wait. They already knew it was him — apparently from facial recognition software that caught the smallest of glimpses of him as he made his escape.

He slipped around the corner of the house, and as soon as the searchlights were past his position, he rushed forward. It was time to make some tracks. He'd tried the sneaky route, and with the show of force they had out already, it was apparent he wouldn't likely make it another day as he crept from the city's center if he kept up with the same pattern.

They'd find him sooner or later anyhow. Might as well make the most of it.

* * *

Chatter on the Capitol surveillance channel was picking up steam as the evening wore on. Uncorroborated sightings were being reported around the city, but they seemed to be chasing a ghost — and the kids in Tahiti were hanging on every word.

"Looks like they made a miscalculation in informing the public," Bruce said."They all think he's lurking out the window."

But the next report was much more urgent sounding as gunfire echoed in the foreground, calling for reinforcements near the outer wall.

"Don't you have video?" Kitty asked.

Tony had been typing furiously for over an hour, and Peter was sure he'd break the delicate-looking piece of equipment if he kept hacking at it like he was. He could hear nearly every keystroke as Tony swore under his breath and looked almost like he was in a trance, occasionally whispering 'almost … almost there'.

As the voice over the audio feed started shouting something that sounded suspiciously like 'claws', Tony finally did it. The monitor flickered to life in time to catch Tivan's commentary on the goings on of the evening. And by the look of the video, Logan's training with Ogun and Po had clearly paid off.

He was somehow still making progress forward, right through the wall of Sentinels, as they fired on him and tried — if only briefly — to engage in close combat. It was fast, so quick, that Tivan had to slow the feed down to double check that he was seeing what he thought he was.

The claws that Logan kept hidden unless he was in dire straits were slicing through everything in front of him as if it was warm butter — armor, Sentinels, weapons, the street lamp that got a little too close... All of it seemed to jump into four pieces as Logan swung his arm.

As their forces began to close in on him from behind, he took a quick glance at them and then turned to the ones in front of him and let out what appeared to be a roar from the very bottom of his feet before he charged them, claws drawn back. Only one of the Sentinels in front of him even thought about holding his ground before they scattered, and just like that, he broke the line and ran like hell as gunfire opened up behind him.

Tivan didn't seem to know what to make of it. He couldn't quite spin it in any way that made their side sound brave or … fortuitous in any way. They'd acted like cowards. On live TV.

"Well," Tivan said at last, finally seeming to get his feet back under him. "Now we see what the rebellion truly is. They're clearly turning men into animals. Nothing but feral instincts left of one of our once _proud_ victors." He slid a little more into a smug smile as he nodded to himself, seeming to decide that was the right course to take. "I'm surprised they allowed a mutt like that in their ranks unchecked."

The cameras followed him for a moment as Tivan continued his smear campaign. On the ground in the Capitol, Logan was trying to clear himself a path. He realized quickly what his real problem was … the simple fact that he'd been spotted. Once that happened, it was just a matter of following him, keeping him on screen while someone shouted where the Sentinels needed to go.

He managed to slip off screen, in what he had correctly guessed was a dark spot, but that couldn't last him long. He was trapped, and he knew it. His hand fell to his side and hit the bag at his hip. He frowned to himself and decided to try and use their own toy against them.

He cracked open the bag and pulled out the pieces, swearing to himself again for pulling it apart without thinking it over any clearer, but with a little fiddling, he managed to line it all up. Before he turned it on again, he took a second to look at the controls and turned every one of them all the way up, hoping it meant that it would block out a bigger area if it was cranked up.

* * *

The gathered group in the rec room were all watching with bated breath as the cameras desperately tried to hone in on Logan, all while Tivan assured the citizens that the animal rampaging and terrifying their delicate sensibilities would soon be captured and publicly put down.

He was mid-rant when the entire feed simply turned to snow.

"Skye!" Kurt turned to the wide-eyed young woman. "What happened?"

"It wasn't _me_ ," she said as her fingers flew over the keyboard. Her teeth were worrying over her bottom lip the whole time, and she kept muttering to herself under her breath.

"Well, what was it, then?" asked Kamala, her eyes wide as she watched over Skye's shoulder, trying to follow the commands to see for herself.

"It wasn't the Capitol either," Skye said. "They wouldn't have cut off mid mud-slinging."

"Was it Hydra?"

"Maybe," Skye allowed. "But as good as they are, they don't have the tech to screw with me like this."

"But they have been screwing with you," Kate pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's… it's not this." Skye shook her head. "More than likely? Logan just used the blackout device. Which _sucks_ , but ... at least the Capitol isn't going to get their show, right?"

The group shared looks between themselves before they had to nod their agreement. But it was still disappointing; it meant they had no idea where their friend was. And the waiting was so much worse than watching.

* * *

Logan had no idea if his little plan had worked, but he wasn't going to wait around to check. He darted from his hiding spot — and as he ran, he only saw a small group of Sentinels headed his way.

When they raised their rifles, he popped his claws and rushed them. Half of them ditched before he got anywhere near them. When one went for his trigger, Logan darted closer with a snarl and cut the man's arm off just over the elbow joint. The others in his group simply scattered after that.

The path to the wall was more or less clear — and after no one came to the rescue of the panicking group he'd left behind, he figured his little gambit had paid off.

He found a spot in the fence and cut his way out before he flat out ran for the treeline under cover of darkness. He glanced up at the stars and started to arc gently to his left as he ran. It was going to be a long trip back, and he'd have to sneak his way around a few districts, but … once he got a little further out, he'd turn off the stupid device and go back to doing what he did best — down and dirty sneakin' around.

* * *

It was nearly an hour before the Capitol feed suddenly flicked back on. They were still desperately searching while Tivan tried to make excuses for the lack of coverage, again assuring the citizens that it was simply a matter of time before the beast was apprehended, but there was none of the confident tone that was there last they'd heard him speak.

They watched for maybe fifteen minutes before Kurt broke the silence.

" _Mein Gott_ ," Kurt breathed out with a grin. "He actually did it."

"Like there was ever any doubt," Jubilee said from where she was still half tangled up with Noh on the couch.

The drop in tension level in the room was palpable, though there was still a sense of foreboding — since, well, they had all learned from experience not to assume _anything_ was over before they got back to base. But the consensus was clear: Logan was, with a little luck, home free.

"So, when will he be back?" Kamala asked quietly. "I mean — when do they pick him up?"

Skye frowned as she shared a look with some of the older kids. The awesomes definitely knew — she'd told them about the lack of extraction plan. But they hadn't wanted to worry the other kids into thinking that SHIELD might do the same to the Tahiti kids on some of their missions and just... drop them in unfriendly territory with no backup. "He'll find his own way back," she admitted at last, not wanting to _lie_ to anyone.

"But he'd have to cross three districts. On foot," Kitty said, sounding disappointed.

"Well," Peter said, after clearing his throat. "In the wild, the intrepid wolverine can cover up to fifty miles a day, often going right over mountain peaks rather than taking the smart route and going around it …"

America punched him in the arm. "So _not_ funny, nature boy!" she said, rolling her eyes, and Peter rubbed his arm.

"Oh come on. Little bit?" He offered her a smile.

"You don't have to worry about him finding food or water," Steve added. "Knowing him, he'll probably come back in better shape than he left."

"And in a much better mood," added Kitty. "I mean, all that time away from people...out in the wilderness…"

Even Kurt joined in with a small smirk. "We can only hope he found some whiskey while he was in hiding."

"If he did, I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't Logan's idea of a vacation," Peter deadpanned.

* * *

 _April 24_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

"Knock, knock," Kamala said, mirroring her words with her actions as she paused in the doorway of the workout room.

Bruce set the weights back down on the bench as he glanced her way. "Oh, hello," he said with a little smile her way.

"Hey." She waved with the tips of her fingers and rubbed the back of her neck for a moment before she let out a breath. "So, did you hear? They're going to start airing the interviews with me and Miles and Cassie as soon as Logan comes back with that blackout device so the Capitol can't stop it."

Bruce nodded; he'd heard the chatter around the Tahiti Wing, and he knew that there was plenty of excitement about it. Kids with families back home — though there surprisingly few of them — were all clamoring for their turn next, since Kurt, Kate, and Peter had sort of jumped the line with the stunt they pulled in the Capitol.

"Well, before that happens, they're going to pull our families into the base so they aren't targets," Kamala added as she took a seat on a nearby bench, looking a bit nervous.

Bruce watched her worrying her hands together. "Is that why you're so nervous?" he asked. "Are you worried about your family?"

Kamala looked surprised for a moment before she let out a little laugh and shook her head. "Oh! Oh, no. No, Agent May promised me she'd get them out just fine. I mean, they _are_ in Six, and there's so much Hydra there... but she's pretty amazing… I was just... " She took in a deep breath. "I asked Coulson if he would pick up my _imam_ as well as my family."

The pieces clicked into place for Bruce as he remembered the conversation he'd had with Kamala when she first woke up, and he sat down next to her with a thoughtful frown. "And that's why you're nervous," he surmised.

She nodded. "I'm really glad I came back. Really. But…"

"But you're worried about the consequences of it."

She stared down at her hands, still worrying, and nodded. For a long while, she was quiet, thinking over her next words, before she blurted out, "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

Bruce raised both eyebrows at the suggestion and turned her way. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "You were interested before, and I thought... well... I still don't know if there's something I'm supposed to do to fix what happened to us. But if there is, it's not fair for me to know and not share it with you if you want to know too."

He smiled at that and nodded. "I'd like that," he agreed.

She brightened up immediately and straightened her shoulders. "Great!" Her smile came out in force as she gave him a quick hug. "Okay, sorry, you were — you were lifting weights. But I'll let you know when they get here, okay? We don't have a day yet, because of the blackout thingy, but .. I'll keep you in the loop."

Bruce just smiled and nodded. "Please," he said.

With that, Kamala grinned and waved happily, all but skipping out the weight room door to leave Bruce with his thoughts.

* * *

 _April 26_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

There wasn't much that the Tahiti kids could do to keep an eye out for Logan outside of what they were already doing — though Skye was sure to patch in to the security cameras around the base so that they could watch the outside cameras in shifts, and there was a small group that had made an unofficial patrol that wandered Tahiti's entrance to try and catch him when he came through. It wasn't like he could get past all that security on his own.

Or so they thought.

When Logan returned to base, the first thing he did was slip into Fury's office and sit down at the desk to write up his debrief — as complete and detailed as he could possibly be, answering questions that he knew Fury would want to know — before he stole a cigar and replaced it with a note with 'rationed' written on it. After that, he went to Fury's hidden locker room, showered, and got into a well-worn pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a brown plaid flannel that he didn't bother buttoning up or tucking in. Not when he was just going to take it off again.

From there, he headed toward the Tahiti wing and decided he was going to test himself. Just because he was so tired he was feeling almost high.

It took forever, but he managed to work his way through, a bit easier, since he found out that the guard shift was considerably lighter in the wee hours of the morning. The biometrics and scanners were still a little sticky, but he didn't set off any alarms, so he stalked through the halls of the Tahiti wing in his bare feet until he got to his room — and found it empty. Naturally. He almost went in and crashed, but figured he'd catch hell if he didn't go to Skye first. And he wanted to _sleep._

So, with the device still in hand, he padded down to the girls' side of the dorms until he found Skye's room. The floor was covered in clothes and candy wrappers, and he had to walk more carefully there than anywhere else so far as he gingerly made his way to her desk to set down her new toy.

He was too tired to mess with much else, so he slipped his flannel off, draped it over the back of her chair, and gently climbed into bed behind her, fully-clothed. He had to smirk to himself when she nestled into him and rested her hand on his automatically. Of course, the fact that she was wearing the one flannel shirt he owned that Jubilee approved of was kind of nice to see too. It was a nice blue that they both swore set off his eyes just right, and he gave her a little squeeze around the waist as he started to curl in behind her, the blankets were already pulled up over both of them.

But when he leaned forward a hair more to land a little kiss on her jaw, just below her ear, all hell broke loose.

She threw an elbow right into his solar plexus, and an instant after that, a palm strike that missed his nose by the finest of margins as he tried to dodge it. But he couldn't miss the punch that came right after that cracked him in the mouth — and knocked him completely out of bed.

He didn't try to stop her, already having learned the 'violent sleeper' lesson once — and apparently this was a reminder of that. For a long moment, he laid flat on his back on the floor with a fresh blood splatter on his white shirt. "Nevermind. I'll just sleep here," he muttered with a little scowl before he closed his eyes and leaned his head back, too tired to bother going anywhere else at this point.

But the hit had woken Skye up, just slightly, not enough that she was quite aware, but enough that she was frowning as she tried to settle back in, nursing her hand a little until she seemed suddenly to realize that she wasn't the only one in the room and sat up fast. "What did — when did — ohmygosh was that _me_?" she asked in a rush as she gestured at his bloodied mouth.

"Go back to sleep," he replied. "Shoulda just dropped off your new toy and left."

She looked wide-eyed and totally apologetic as she reached over to grab his arm. "Come on — let me — I mean… I didn't _know_ it was you, but — I'm so sorry!"

"No, that was much better than last time," he told her. "Did more damage than the soldiers did."

"That's not _better_ ," she said in what was both a gasp and a severe talking to at the same time. "That's—"

"Better."

"No, it's not, because I'm your _girlfriend._ I'm not supposed to — I mean, that's not how — you're bleeding!"

"It's okay, I'm not going to press charges," he teased, a little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

She gaped at him for a second before she had to smack him in the arm. "It's not funny."

"Okay, now I might have to."

"Fury will side with me," Skye told him.

"No he won't," Logan said with a little smile. "I left a full debrief on his desk. He'll be happy when he finds it."

"Influencing the judge," she said, shaking her head. "That's low."

"You were the one insinuating that he'd side with you," Logan replied as he finally sat up from where he'd been lying. "But … you know... when I think about it … that was like a B-."

"I wasn't even conscious, you idiot," she said.

"Well, that shouldn't matter," he argued. "Someone else tries to curl up with you, you should knock 'em the hell out."

At that, she started to laugh. "Jealous?" she teased.

He leaned forward slightly. "You gonna be alright if some girl wraps around me while I'm passed out?"

"Depends on if it's Elsie, or Jubes, or Kate, or Katie…" she laughed.

"Yeah, you're hilarious. All the goofy kids. No."

"I'm just saying, you should be more specific, considering the small army of girls…"

"Alright, fine. Point taken. Gimmie a pillow."

She grinned at him and made space for him to join her so she could snuggle in. He gave her a look and slowly got into bed, though he didn't get too far beyond lying prone before he was drifting. "That thing is on your desk."

"Thanks; I'll look at it when I'm more awake," she said. She was already curling up with him and clearly didn't have any plans on moving, either.


	44. Caged Bird

**Chapter 44: "Caged Bird"**

* * *

 _April 27_

 _In the Capitol_

* * *

It hadn't taken long at all for Natalie Rushman to figure out the dynamics in play in the palace, and the weakest point, she had decided, was Ronan.

Gamora was too close to Thanos, clearly being groomed for the throne, and what's more, she was actually competent. She knew what she was doing, and she wouldn't be easy to get close to in the slightest. And Thanos himself ... well. Even his own children avoided having to spend any time with him if it was possible. There was no way that she could establish anything like trust — she'd gotten as far as it was possible to get just establishing herself as 'competent' and 'loyal' and 'easily intimidated.'

But Ronan ... the man had an ego the size of a small moon, and he had an axe to grind. Every morning when he saw his reflection was a personal reminder of what Logan had done — and the fact that the former victor had slipped out of the Capitol's hands, publicly, on live television, was clearly irking him.

So, the first time she let slip that she was on Ronan's side was when he stopped by her desk to look over a list of possible rebel sympathizers that his father wanted him to work over. This was a fairly routine move, but today, the list had been relatively short — only two names — and the disappointment was clear on Ronan's face.

More than that, he was clearly angry, though no one, not even Ronan, would dare express that in the president's presence.

She watched him pace and scowl outside Thanos' door for a long moment before she made her calculated slip. "He should rely on you more, sir," she said. "I'm sure _you_ would crush them fast…" She trailed off and clapped a hand to her mouth and spun away from him. "I'm sorry. I'm so- that was out of turn. I didn't … I didn't mean—"

It had been a simple enough slip to make, and she had immediately made sure to look furiously down at the ground. It was apparent he was pleased by the praise — ego was such an easy target with him — but she didn't want to seem like she was anything like, well, a _fan_ or _infatuated_ or anything that could get too dangerous. It was just that — a slip — and she wouldn't make another one for two days after that. She could be patient.

After all, she was going to be there for a while.

* * *

 _April 29_

 _Somewhere Outside District Twelve_

* * *

Clara had finally found where the Hydra kids were kept — and she was sure of it, because she'd seen that creep Rumlow going in and out of the building. Openly. No mask like the Tahiti kids had to do … just … wandering about free as a bird. And it pissed her off.

For a moment, she thought about coming out and killing him there on the spot, and her wolf must have had the same thought, because Ella started to growl the slightest bit until Clara rested her hand on Ella's head and scratched her behind the ears absently.

No. She needed to find out if they had anyone _worth_ fighting for in that building before she started a war with them. So she gave Ella the command to stay to the trees — not to stay, since wolves were often shot on sight, particularly ones that large.

Clara crept down to the building and found a way inside from the roof after she'd climbed the downspouts to get there. No one was guarding the access door, not that she was complaining.

What she found when she got inside the place though was the stuff of mystery novels. She'd only been inside all of fifteen minutes when she saw a man come out of a hidden door on the wall, and she frowned from her hiding spot, just waiting for enough time to pass that she could look for the release that would open the door.

When she found it, a muted click sounded in the room as the latch opened, and she very carefully opened the door and slipped into the wall. She had no idea where she was going, but secret passageway had to mean something good was on the other end, right?

She walked quietly, trying to avoid stepping on anything in the dark, though that wasn't exactly an easy task. More than once she'd heard the sounds of rats at her feet, though she tried to ignore that as much as humanly possible.

Finally, she slowed when she heard voices muffled through the walls. The speaker sounded vaguely familiar, but she just couldn't place who it was, and when she figured out where the voices were coming from, she leaned her ear against the wall to listen closer, though that didn't clarify things for her much either. It wasn't until she found the little slide at about waist level to peek out from that she _saw_ who was in the room.

The tall, pale man addressing the two boys sounded familiar, but not so much that it really cemented anything. When the kids turned, Clara had to clap a hand over her mouth as she recognized Bucky Barnes alongside Brock Rumlow. "Oh, that sneaky rat," she whispered to herself — barely breathing it out. "Who else have you got hidden away?"

At the end of the hidden corridor, she heard a click, and her attention was drawn immediately to finding a place to hide … which wasn't going to be easy, considering the fact that she was literally in a three-foot-wide tunnel.

She bit her lip and put a hand on each wall as she rushed down the hall, looking for any little cubby or crevice she could slip into until whoever it was passed her by. But she didn't find one. She was swearing in her head, her heart racing, when she hit the end of the hall, and she slid down the wall and held her breath as she watched the tall figure approach. But maybe twenty feet before he would have bumped into her, a section of the hall opened up, blocking him from her view until the door closed again, leaving her alone in the dark.

She didn't waste any time after that, getting back to her feet and rushing back the way she came as quickly and quietly as she could. When she got to the door she'd come in through, though, she stopped cold on hearing her brother on the other side talking to someone that simply didn't want to negotiate with him. She frowned at his tone — totally unfamiliar to her — and when she looked through the sliding panel at almost eye level, she had to stare as she watched a redheaded, tattooed girl _kissing_ her brother.

She very slowly slid the panel closed with one hand over her mouth before she started looking for another way out of that hallway, muttering under her breath about how this had to be a house of horrors.

She finally found a switch to open a door out of the hall, though she had no idea where that was going to take her, and she was half afraid to even try it, all things considered so far. But knowing that some deviant had found her psychotic brother _kissable_ was more than she could handle, so she really didn't care where this door spit her out, and she didn't look around immediately until she heard someone very quietly call out her name.

She whipped around so fast, her braid stuck out nearly straight behind her as she turned to see Scott, locked up in what amounted to a cell on the other end of the room. Even through the bars, she could see how thin and tired he looked — and how much her appearance had completely caught him off his guard, judging by the fact that his lips were slightly parted and his eyebrows were high on his head.

"Why are you in a cage?" she asked at a whisper as she approached him slowly, silently.

"Why aren't you?" he asked just as quietly, eyeing her carefully. "Don't tell me you're actually working for these people."

"You mean with the whackjob that I just saw _kissing my brother?_ Are you kidding me? NO!"

He held up both hands with a little wince. "Alright, sorry, yeah. She's crazy — I know."

"Obviously!"

"So then what are you _doing_ here?" he had to ask. "How long have you been out?"

"Well," she said, relaxing a little bit. "I guess I was looking for you. And I left Tahiti … um … last fall."

"Tahiti?" he repeated, shaking his head. "What are you talking about?"

She took a few steps closer to the bars he was behind. "Where did you wake up, Scott? Because most of us woke up with SHIELD in the Capitol." She rested a hand near the bars leading down to the lock on his door. "They told us they couldn't save you."

"Well, that tracks," he muttered with a small frown. "Essex said no one knew we were here."

"As far as I can tell, no one does," she said with a nod. "I didn't want to fight, so I left."

He glanced up at her in honest surprise. "And they didn't stop you? How'd you get past the poison?" he asked.

"What poison?" she asked. "They took the trackers out when we were in SHIELD. Before we woke up. What are you talking about?"

Scott started to shake his head as he processed what she was saying. "Essex said he took the tracker out but not the poison — and he's not lying," he said with a deep glare.

"But they didn't say anything to _us_ about it," Clara said in a rush. "And they didn't even try to use it on me." She started to look over his cage. "I need to get you out of here. Back to SHIELD. Kamala's awake — and she'd flip out if she could see you."

"She is?" Scott actually started to smile at that.

"Not to mention your little brother…"

"Alex is alive? He's okay?" Scott asked, pushing himself to his feet and looking almost like he didn't dare believe her.

Clara smiled back at him and nodded her head. "I came looking because … well. Hydra is using Rumlow and Silver Fox as PR. SHIELD has gone public with their reanimation program. It was … a mess, and Logan's old team came out to save him on national TV ... "

Scott was shaking his head the whole time as he listened. "Hydra's been using old tributes for more than just PR," he told her frankly. "We were in the Capitol for the revolution. Raven and I were there when Creed and Logan fought… she's the one that wanted to save Creed, for some reason. She was taking shots at Logan, trying to bring him down, keep him from finishing the job..."

"They're screwing around," Clara said with her nose scrunched up. "That's why."

"Yeah, try not to think about it too much," he said, making a similar face.

"But how did she even know he was there? Was he doing work for Hydra?"

"No," Scott said. "No ... actually, that's the one thing your brother and I _do_ agree on. He's not working for them. Not willingly, anyway, as far as I know." He shook his head and let out a sigh. "Actually… we'd been sent to try to grab Logan," he admitted, though he was quick to add, "I wouldn't have let her even if she hadn't gotten sidetracked."

"Grab him or kill him?" Clara asked.

"Either," Scott said. "Essex wants him ... but… he's not a fan of sharing." He frowned deeply at the thought and then shook his head to banish it before he got stuck on that train of thought too long. "You really shouldn't be here."

"Neither should you. I'm getting you out," she decided before she started looking for something to break the door open. "You're on the main floor, so we should be able to just go out the window …"

"And then what?" Scott gestured to his arm. "I'm dead the second he sees we're gone."

She stopped and worried her lip as she tried to find a way around it. "I can't just leave you here."

He watched her for a long moment, working it out for himself as well, before he asked, "Well, what about SHIELD? Do you have backup?"

"I don't know how to get in touch with them, but I can find a way, I think," she said. "I'm awful at computers, though."

"Maybe I can walk you through it," he offered.

"Sure. If I can steal a laptop, I'll bring it right to you," she said dryly.

"Or an earpiece so I can actually just _walk you through_ ," he countered, though he was smirking.

"See? Awful with tech," she replied, gesturing to herself. There was the sound of a door closing down the hall, and she turned, wondering how much time she had there. "This place is awfully busy."

"They're planning something big soon. It's not always this busy," Scott told her. "I don't know what it is, though."

"I'll see what I can find," Clara promised. "There has to be a way to do this, right?"

"Right," he agreed with a little nod. "Just do me a favor and don't get caught in the meantime. You do _not_ want Essex playing around with you."

"Awww, you sound like you're worried about me," Clara said with a little smirk.

"I'm serious, Clara."

"Yes, I know, fearless, don't give yourself an ulcer," she replied as she rested her other hand on the bars. "You're _always_ serious, Scott."

Scott looked like he wanted to say something else to her, but the sound of footsteps down the hidden hallway had her moving quick. The closet door was on the other side of the room, but it was unlocked, so she slipped in and closed it most of the way so whoever was coming in wouldn't see her there with Scott. Thankfully, whoever it was didn't stay long and was there only long enough to drop off something for Scott to eat before they left. As soon as they were gone, Clara slipped back out to frown at Scott and the meager rations.

"You better find somewhere better to hide," Scott told her with a little frown. "The closet's not going to cut it when Essex gets here."

"Which way does he usually come in — and how long do I have?" she asked. "I know a few of the doors in the secret hallway already …"

"Usually from the east," Scott said, gesturing with one hand. "That's where his labs are. And… I'd say you have less than an hour."

"Then maybe I should go that way," she mused. "See who else he has in here."

"It would be better to check that in an hour when he's here — not now when he's there," Scott reasoned. "He usually stays here for a while, and I don't want you caught up in his labs."

"Come on, Scott, what's the worst that could happen?" she asked with a little smile.

He raised an eyebrow and for a moment and wordlessly gestured at his surroundings. "Oh. Just captivity, slavery, and torture. Nothing much."

"Well, that's not too bad. You didn't grow up with _your_ brothers," she replied in an attempt to tease. "And … yours probably weren't monsters either. So."

"Just please don't get caught," he said with a totally open expression.

"If I do — which I won't — I will take as many of them down as I can."

The corner of his mouth twitched up for just a second. "Yeah," he said. "Sounds about right."

* * *

 _May 3_

 _In the Capitol_

* * *

For the past week or so, the daily goings-on in the Capitol could almost be described as ordinary, at least insofar as there was nothing earth-shattering. There were no Hydra or SHIELD broadcasts, and the Sentinel and Nova Corps forces were reporting that, at the very least, they weren't losing ground in the districts. For the moment.

It was like living in a holding pattern, and the longer it went on, the more Natalie saw that everyone around her was practically holding their breaths, waiting for the inevitable crash that would come with bad news.

When she had arrived at the Capitol, after she'd set up her relay link to Fury, one of the first things she did was to set up several little devices — a joint project between Stark and Pym to replace the little moving cameras that Quill had placed in the palace ages ago, this time with bugs and wire taps more than surveillance equipment.

It wouldn't help SHIELD against the blackout device — though Natasha didn't know that when she set them — but it was supposed to give Skye and SHIELD a better window into the Capitol feed when they wanted to hijack it. So when a SHIELD emblem floated its way over Natalie's monitors outside Thanos' office, it wasn't long before she heard the shouts of frustration and slight panic around her as everyone scrambled to figure out how they'd been so thoroughly locked out of their systems. No one could stop the broadcast, and no one could figure out how SHIELD was even broadcasting after the blackout devices had been deployed the second the feed was interrupted.

As everyone scrambled, they could hear the youngest of Fury's Tahiti tributes as they talked about their lives after the Games. Cassie gushed about learning to swim, Kamala about all the lab equipment she could play with, Miles about all the friends he had made — though Miles' had been clearly edited to keep names out of play.

It was probably more effective even than the original broadcast with the members of Team Awesome, since these were young, innocent kids. They weren't going out and fighting. They were learning, growing, coming into their own. Even Hydra would have a hard time arguing that these kids were anything like a threat or that they were being used when their enthusiasm was so untempered and _obvious_.

And it helped that not a one of them was taller than five feet — Miles because he hadn't hit his growth spurt yet, Kamala because of her age, and Cassie because, well, she was just short. But it made them all look younger and sweeter than they were. It was the perfect tool to gain public support and sympathy for the cause. After all, these were the same kids that the Capitol had tried to throw away to the Games, and here they were — adorable and alive.

No one was able to stop the broadcast until it had played in its entirety, and when it was through, everyone in the palace knew it was only a matter of time before the president and anyone around him started losing tempers — and heads. The second their servers were back online, they were all scrambling. She was knee-deep into her desk pretending to look for a bug when Ronan came stomping in at last, the rage easy to see and somehow magnified by the long scars over his face.

No one said a word as he pushed past them all into the room next door — with Gamora doing the same only moments later — but in that oppressive silence, they could all hear the raised voices behind Thanos' heavily reinforced door.

The royals were tweaked, not just because of the PR campaign itself but because someone at SHIELD was able to stop them from _doing_ anything about preventing the broadcasts. It made them look powerless to stop SHIELD, and that was more important than the PR messages themselves. And it didn't exactly help that they all knew Logan's incredibly public defeat of the Capitol forces had given SHIELD exactly what they needed to keep making the Capitol look foolish.

When the shouting finally stopped and both of Thanos' children came all but stomping back out again, though, Natasha was surprised to see that of the two of them, _Gamora_ was the more frustrated. Usually, she was more level-headed; Ronan was well-known around the palace for losing his temper, and everyone who worked there was terrified of catching him in a bad mood, since there was no way to prepare for it. But this time, it was the princess who was still half stomping past.

Ronan looked frustrated, of course. Annoyed. But it wasn't nearly the temper tantrum he usually had when things went this wrong. And Natasha watched him for a moment, trying to place why... before he turned toward the desk and she quickly made it a point to drop her gaze and look busy and keep her cover.

Still, it had her wondering. There _had_ to be something else in play here to keep him from at least overturning a desk or something. The frustrating thing was that she simply hadn't gotten herself in deep enough that she could guess what it was.

Not yet, anyway.


	45. Schism

**Chapter 45: Schism**

* * *

 _May 7_

 _Coulson's Tahiti Office_

* * *

More than anything else in his job, Coulson's least favorite duty was delivering bad news. It was becoming more and more a part of his duties now that there was a fully realized war on, but it was one thing to tell the family of a SHIELD agent bad news and another thing entirely to deliver it the other direction — and over natural causes.

He looked up when Logan arrived at his office and gestured for the young man to sit down, straightening the files on his desk as he waited for Logan to do so before he cleared his throat. "Logan, I'm afraid there's been news out of Seven," he began quietly, watching Logan's reaction, and when Logan simply waited for him to elaborate, he let out a sigh. "Your grandfather passed yesterday — old age, not part of the revolution, if that's any consolation."

Logan watched him for a moment before he simply tipped his head to the side. "Bound to happen. Just surprised he didn't try to take half the district with him. Or did he?"

Coulson glanced at Logan, surprised, but he quickly cleared his throat again and nodded. "No, he passed peacefully, as I understand it. And suddenly. He was yelling at the mayor just the day before over something or other."

"Sounds like any other day of the week then," Logan said with a nod. "Is that all?"

"Not quite." Coulson frowned. "You're the only heir of his estate. And legally, you do need to see to the estate. There aren't any provisions for the staff or anything beyond a simple instruction that you get everything."

Logan looked openly shocked. "He did what now?"

"I can show you the will," Coulson offered as he reached for one of the files. "It's perfectly legal, everything notarized…"

"I just didn't think he'd do that," Logan said with a studious look on his face as he went over the papers.

"It happened shortly after you won your Games," Coulson said.

"Yeah, I see that," Logan said, already having checked the date. "So … now what?"

"Now, you go to Seven. Get your affairs in order as you see fit. And then you can go on with what you were doing before. It's your estate to do with as you like, but I don't imagine you'll have much use for it right now. Maybe in the future."

"Yeah, it's … I don't think the district can afford to keep it going on their own," Logan said, shaking his head. "Probably break it down and... I don't even know. I guess … probably oughta just try to set something up and see if the house makes it through the war first."

"It's up to you," Coulson said. "You can take Harry Tabeshaw with you — I'm sure he'll appreciate the assignment," he added with a little smirk.

"How long do you think this is gonna take?" Logan asked with a frown.

"That depends on what you decide to do," Coulson admitted. "If you're not sure, I'd suggest taking a few days."

"Well, there's three families depending on the income …"

"Like I said, it's up to you. You can always keep it running — or make arrangements for them to be taken care of. Maybe ask them what they would like to do. It's your call."

"That's probably best. They're likely ready to retire anyhow," Logan said with a little nod. "Alright. Thanks. I'll … be back as quick as I can." He stood up and paused at the door. "Hey, do me a favor, would you? Keep this between us?"

"Of course," Coulson promised. "It's your business, Logan. I'm not going to air it out."

"I know that. I just... wasn't close to the guy, and I know how half the people get around here when it comes to stuff like this."

He nodded. "Absolutely. I understand. Good luck."

As soon as he was out of Coulson's office, Logan headed to his room to pack a change of clothes, though he didn't get very far into it before he was interrupted. Skye had apparently decided it was rude for him to take his brown flannel with him. "This needs to stay here. It's the softest one," she told him before she took it out of his hands and dropped into the chair in the corner. "Where do you think you're going anyhow with … extra clothes?"

"Got some BS to take care of in Seven," he replied before he pulled out a different shirt and shoved it into the rucksack before she could snatch that one away too. "No danger that I'm aware of, just be gone a couple days." He paused in his packing and gave her a quick look. "If you clear it past your boss, you might be able to take a couple days off."

"Hey, that last broadcast went great; I've got some free time for once," she said with a crooked smile.

"It's gonna be a lot of paperwork, so if you have stuff to do, it'd just be a quiet spot more than anything." He shrugged his shoulder just the slightest. "And there really won't be much snow either. So the chances of freezing to death are pretty small."

"Well, darn," she said with a little smile. "I kinda like getting snowed in."

"Didn't say it wasn't cold — just that you wouldn't freeze to death. And there is an outside chance of a late season blizzard. It isn't unheard of."

"Don't go getting my hopes up," she teased him as she started to get to work — now gathering up her own clothes as well as some of his. "I'll tell Coulson on the way out."

"Gotta make sure he knows who's in charge, eh?"

"I _am_ the future director of SHIELD," she said, grinning his way.

He gave her a crooked smile. "Well, Future Director of SHIELD, we won't be entirely alone. Our pilot's going to go with us. Turns out he needs a vacation. But your room is still open if you don't want to get too close."

"Too close to what? Paperwork? Ooh, scary."

"Alright smartass, let's get this over with. Go tell your boss the future director has a need for space." He put his bag over his shoulder and offered his hand to take hers after he put his hat on.

"And snow — but that's cautious optimism speaking," she said.

From there, it was just a matter of packing everything — and everyone — up. As they passed by Coulson's office, Logan didn't even look toward the stoic agent as Skye shouted out to him in one big breath. "Taking a couple days— see you soon!"

When they got to the hangar, Harry clearly looked to be in a good mood — but he was obviously cautiously optimistic. "So … it's just a couple days or so doing _nothing_?"

"Yes."

"Is that _your_ nothing, or everyone else's nothing?" Harry asked, and Logan stopped in his tracks to turn to face the pilot.

"Just shut up and fly the damn plane," he said with a frown. "So you can kick back in my place while I'm out being bored out of my mind with _nothing._ "

"Does that sound like a good nothing to you?" Harry asked Skye as he headed over to remove the blocks at the wheels. "Or a 'I'm inviting trouble' nothing?"

"He's taking me, and he's promised I'll be bored ... so…" She smirked his way.

"That does nothing to ease my mind," Harry said with a grin.

"Well, that's because you know him so well," she teased.

"You're both a pain in the ass," Logan muttered as they climbed aboard and settled in for the flight. "Ridiculous."

Still, when they got to Seven, it certainly seemed to be exactly how Logan had laid it out. Skye and Harry had the log house to themselves — along with a crackling fire to keep warm and plenty of things to nibble on while Logan was simply gone most of the day.

It was peaceful and quiet for them while he was trying to get through listening to what the staff at the Howlett house had to say. Which just meant he was very happy to get back to his log house when the day was more or less over with — even if Skye and Harry looked perfectly contented with their mini vacation.

* * *

 _May 9_

 _SHIELD Base One_

* * *

In a corner of the base, several of the stylists had their heads together making plans for a party. They couldn't do anything extravagant like they were used to, of course, not in the middle of a war — but they could at least pull together something nice for Warren's birthday.

Noh had already spoken with Peter's Aunt May about a small something sweet, so he was in charge of that later on — and everyone had pooled their resources to put together some new boots and shirts. After all, what else would stylists give each other?

The real question at this point was how to surprise him, and while MJ was keeping him distracted asking for some help in the detail work of a skirt she was working on for herself, the rest of the little group was scheming and plotting and giggling among themselves.

That is ... right up until it seemed like every door or entrance in the place burst open at once, and an entire platoon of green-clad soldiers seemed to _flood_ into the base.

It was instant pandemonium. Anyone who wasn't SHIELD-trained was in a panic — Capitolites who had been rescued, family members of SHIELD agents and victors and tributes…. May and Margali were ushering Susan and Katie, along with some of the Hudson kids, to stick together — and both Mac and Heather were proving surprisingly good at keeping anyone from even looking at any of those kids sideways as they rushed for cover.

Jubilee tried to stay out of trouble at first, but when the first invader tried to grab her, she went right into overdrive, threw an elbow in his face, and flattened him. Noh beside her decked another guy with a glass jaw and looked her way for a moment, surprise and pleasure in his expression, before they got back into it.

They were both distracted when Honey Lemon screamed.

Both of them turned toward their friend, ready for a fight — but they were both surprised and relieved to see that it was a blue-clad SHIELD agent, gently trying to shush Honey and apologizing for scaring her, but, "We have to get everyone out of here. _Now_."

They glanced over to where the other were and saw that several SHIELD agents were already doing just that for the family members — an impressive number around any groups that had kids younger than twelve in particular. But SHIELD wasn't really asking or waiting for them to agree, and before they knew it, the whole group of them were being ushered through the base.

"Who are these creeps?" GoGo asked over the noise and chaos around them. The green-clad soldiers weren't necessarily going for the civilians, focusing their attacks on more high-value targets, but they weren't slowed down by them either, more than willing to shoot down anyone in their path.

"We'll explain later. Right now, get somewhere safe," one of the agents said over her shoulder before that agent was shot and simply crumpled. GoGo couldn't stop the cry of surprise — but the SHIELD agents insisted that they press onward, and the group moved forward at a markedly quicker pace.

They could still hear shots and shouting behind them until they entered a corridor that none of them had seen before that seemed to open up in the wall itself and then went nearly straight down from there. But they didn't stop hurrying until they reached what seemed to be more or less a bunker — where it looked like most of their friends were already waiting.

The agents ushered them in quickly, but didn't follow. Instead, they sealed the bunker doors once the group was safely inside.

* * *

Upstairs, Hydra was doing their level best to break through the few security measures left keeping them out of the most important parts of the base — the ones that separated Fury and Hill and a few others as well as the intelligence section of SHIELD.

What Hydra didn't know, though, was that this base had already been scrubbed — as much as possible while it was still in use, anyway. What was left had to be done by Hill and Fury themselves, since they were the only ones with access, and the two of them moved wordlessly through their offices to destroy anything Hydra might want to get its hands on.

They'd known the raid was coming — though not the exact time. Bobbi had stopped reporting a couple days ago with the simple message that she was packed and ready to go at a moment's notice for Hydra, so it might happen any day now. And Natasha had reported from the Capitol that the Sentinel and Nova Corps forces were uncharacteristically pulling slightly back from their area — not an open invitation to Hydra necessarily, at least not to anyone who didn't already suspect they were in cahoots, but further proof that trouble was brewing.

The second base was ready for relocation as soon as this raid passed. The Tahiti equipment had been there for weeks, and everything else had been moved over a period of days so as not to attract too much attention. The Tahiti Wing itself was on lockdown, and it would be impossible to penetrate without the access codes — not visitor codes but fully realized authorization. And the bunkers underneath the base would hold the rest of their forces as well as the civilians.

Hydra wouldn't get anything out of this raid except casualties and the bragging right to say that they'd razed a SHIELD base to the ground — but only so long as SHIELD got everyone _into_ the bunkers in the first place.

Coulson and May were running things in the main parts of the base and were probably already down with the civilians and SHIELD personnel. All that was left to do was get the victors and get underground. If nothing else, this was exactly the litmus test they needed for loyalties.

There were very few surprises in the group of victors as Fury and Hill joined the fight. They weren't shocked in the least, for example, that Erik and Hank had made getting Charles and Moira somewhere safe a priority. Nor were they surprised to see the Fantastic Four fighting together against Hydra — or to see Jessica Drew and Sam Wilson helping the last of the civilians get out.

Hill was, however, a bit surprised when she saw that Groot was tearing into the Hydra soldiers furiously, with an expression that neither of the SHIELD agents had seen before — and that Black Bolt, of all people, was actually fighting.

"Looks like he picked a side," Hill muttered, shaking her head a bit as she saw the usually reserved victor bodily toss a Hydra soldier away from Rhodes and help the younger victor back to his feet.

It was certainly a sight to behold. Almost every one of the victors was involved somehow, some of them even fighting each other. America had left an impressive bruise over Obadiah Stane's entire left side of his face, and she'd left bootprints on the Hydra soldiers who tried to pull her back. Norman Osborn was sneering his disappointment all over Jess for her loyalty to SHIELD.

There were notable absences, too. Odin had long ago gone back to Four, so that explained him, and Schmidt had disappeared the moment the revolution had been declared. But neither of the women from Two were there, and Logan was in Seven. All five were heavy hitters, and likely if they'd been there, the timbre of the fight would have been entirely different.

But the truth of the matter was: with most of SHIELD already pulling back to the bunkers, it was time to go, and Hill barked out the orders to retreat even as a few of the more involved victors — both Grimm and America were simply bashing through Hydra and clearly having a blast — gave her dirty looks for it.

But the victors — those on SHIELD's side, anyway — did follow Hill. A few, like Jess, who was supporting Sam with one arm, went quicker — though Hill had to smirk when Groot's solution to America wanting to keep fighting was to just pick her up and tuck her under one arm, while she seemed both surprised and annoyed that she couldn't get him to drop her.

They beat a hasty retreat, and it wasn't until the bunker doors were safely locked and reinforced behind them that they turned from fight mode to taking stock of each other, almost like a switch had been flipped. Not a one of the victors had walked away unscathed, and several would need stitches at least — but they hadn't suffered any fatalities in their ranks.

Above their heads, the group could hear Hydra blasting away in their path of destruction, but Fury had those bunkers made to withstand just about anything Hydra _or_ the Capitol could even conceive of to throw at them.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting them out. Even the entrances were concealed deep under the ground, and if Hydra razed the base to the ground, they _still_ wouldn't know where to look. They'd have to leave empty-handed.

* * *

Coulson and May had finally taken stock of everyone in the bunker. They wouldn't know until they heard from the rest of their forces, but thankfully, it looked like there had been minimal casualties, all things considered — especially where the civilians on base were concerned.

With medics spread out in the group attending to anyone who needed it, and with a head count completed, all that was left to do was wait for the all-clear, and the two SHIELD agents found themselves seated close to several of the families of the Tahiti kids while they waited.

May was leaned back with her head against the wall, just catching her breath and finding her calm as Coulson fielded questions from Kamala's family about the Tahiti kids — were they safe (yes), did they have bunkers (yes) and so on.

"I'm telling you, Mr. Khan, the Tahiti Wing has been and still is the safest place in the whole base. They wouldn't have even seen a green uniform once the lockdown was initiated," Coulson assured the worried father.

May was almost smiling to herself at the interaction when she felt two tiny hands on her arm and looked down in surprise to see that little Josh Hudson was staring up at her with wide eyes and a look of concern. When he saw her pick her head up and look his way, though, he just sort of nodded at her and, without asking permission, started to climb up into her lap.

She raised an eyebrow at the quiet little boy, but she also wasn't going to try to stop him. So she just reached down to help him the rest of the way up, and once he was properly seated, he all but melted into her in a snuggle, arms wrapped around her neck and clearly not about to move anytime soon.

"He likes you," Mac said softly from across the way. "Count yourself lucky."

She looked over the top of Josh's head with a raised eyebrow. "What did I do?" she asked — in honest curiosity.

"Not a thing," he replied. "But he likes the ones that are naturally quiet most of the time."

She nodded thoughtfully at that and rearranged herself to get a little more comfortable. "Makes sense." Though when she glanced over at Coulson to see that he was grinning — an honest grin — she rolled her eyes at him. "Stop that."

"I don't know — I like the softer look."

She gave him her most unimpressed, dry look, though that maddeningly seemed to make the grin more permanent.

By the time the all clear had sounded, it was late enough that Josh was all but asleep on May, so Coulson just smirked at her and promised to catch up with her as he went to go check on the Tahiti kids and get them started on the relocation procedures.

When they got topside, Coulson wasn't surprised to see that Hydra had, in fact, more or less leveled the place before they left, though already, SHIELD personnel were moving to get everyone on a transport to the new location. They'd be set up within days and right back in business; this was only a minor setback.

He passed by the SHIELD agents directing traffic until he found the access point for Tahiti and slipped inside, relieved to see that it looked like the lockdown had initiated in time. There were no signs of blaster fire on his way down ... though when he arrived at the main body of the wing, where the kids _should_ have been, he was met with a gaping emptiness.

He jumped straight to concern as he picked up his pace, checking the main rooms, the training rooms, the residential areas, the public living spaces. His heart in his throat, he hit medical, and he was surprised to find that the whole wing was in quarantine mode, with metal sheets over all the walls and doors.

He keyed in his code at the access panel — but that was only half of it. Someone on the other side had to acknowledge the code. So he was half holding his breath when the quarantine walls came up and the medical staff, along with Peter Quill, met him there.

He was totally gobsmacked, looking past Claire and Cecelia as if he might spot the rest of the kids that he realized now simply weren't there. "What happened?"

Quill looked fairly miserable — and angry — as he shook his head. "Hydra — they practically swarmed the place," he said. "We locked down medical before they could get anything death-defying, but…"

"How?" he asked, still thunderstruck at the prospect of anyone getting through the stringent security measures that were in place.

"No idea," Quill said. "There wasn't even an alarm. Only reason we're all not dead is Claire's quick thinking. She locked down medical as soon as she saw the soldiers. But me and Kitty were the only ones in here at the time." He shook his head. "Never been so happy about a sprained wrist before — thanks Kitty," he said as Coulson saw Kitty poke out from one of the rooms.

"What about everyone else?" Kitty asked Coulson, a fair bit of alarm in her voice. "The power was knocked out ... we couldn't see anything outside..."

Coulson took a quick look around himself for a moment. "As far as I can tell — you two are it," he replied.

"That can't be right," Kitty said, frowning. "Did you check the lab? Tony has some extra security there…"

"No, I haven't gotten that far yet," Coulson replied as he continued to look around the area, completely crestfallen, though he did head that way — and after a few steps, he broke into a jog, only to stop short when he heard a commotion in the _wall,_ of all places.

A moment later, the grate to one of the vents tumbled down, and Ororo poked her head out first, pulling herself through the opening — with Kate not far behind. Both of them looked livid, and they were covered in dust, but Ororo was nearly shaking, on the verge of a complete panic attack.

"What are you doing in the _walls_?" Coulson half demanded.

"It was the closest hiding place," Kate defended. "We were in the flight sim when it happened."

He turned his entire body toward where the flight simulators were and then back to the two girls as they brushed each other off — though Kate was clearly trying to calm Ororo back down and kept gently rubbing her back, trying to get her to breathe again.

But even with how shaken Ororo clearly was, Coulson still couldn't ignore… "How the hell did you find your way here? Have you … _have you been running around in the ventilation this whole time?"_

"Not running; more like crawling," Kate said. "Where's everyone else, anyway? We went to find them, but someone gassed the place."

"Which is much worse when you're in an enclosed vent," Ororo said — which only had Kate making another sympathetic noise and rubbing circles into the space between Ororo's shoulders.

"That's what we're trying to find out," Coulson replied. "Anyone else tucked away up in the duct work?"

"Not that we saw," Ororo breathed out, though she glanced at Kate. "And I'm _not_ going back."

"I can go back and look," Kate offered, looking sympathetic.

"I'd rather we stick together for the time being," Coulson admitted as he put an arm around Ororo and continued on his way to Stark's labs — where there were a handful of lab rats behind a highly fortified system of Stark's own design.

He banged on the door. "Open up, Tony. We need to know who's here," Coulson called out.

When the door came up, Coulson let out a breath on seeing that there were at least a handful more kids inside — Stark, of course, as well as Bruce Banner and Forge, who got a very relieved and warm hug from Ororo as soon as she saw him. Forge more than anyone else in the group seemed to have the best luck in calming her down from her panic, too — to the relief of the rest of the group, who hadn't liked seeing her like that.

Still, the fact that there were only three of them in the lab...

"That's it?" Coulson asked looking more upset than before. "This can't be it!"

"This is everyone who was in the labs when the lockdown went into effect," Bruce said. "Gwen was with Peter — Kamala and Miles went to the training room — and Kitty was with Peter Quill." He looked concerned as he took in Coulson's expression. "We had a blackout here. They blew the power; it wasn't just a device. Where is everyone else?"

"I wish I knew," Coulson replied — which had all three lab rats freezing outright as they quickly realized just how bad this situation was.

"I'm going back in the vents," Kate told Coulson with a serious frown. "I'm not the only one who knows they're a good hiding place. Maybe…" She was glancing around and clearly getting more worried; he could see her almost reflexively reaching for a bow.

"Take a comm and report back," Coulson said. "I don't want you running into trouble and not having a way to get help."

"Gotcha." She nodded quickly and disappeared down the hall to climb back in the same vent she and Ororo had exited.

Coulson looked to Stark and Banner. "I need you two to get your systems online and scrub the area for any pings on the radar. Especially outbound. Maybe we can still track them."

"On it," Stark agreed. Both boys were already moving — and Forge as well as soon as he'd finished making sure Ororo was okay after being in an enclosed space for so long — though they didn't find anything for a long time while as they were rebooting and restarting their systems.

In fact, they still hadn't found anything when Kate came all but crashing through the vents again — this time through a different access cover — and dropped to the ground looking incredibly distressed and even dustier than before.

"There's nobody in there," she told Coulson breathlessly. "No Clint, or Kurt, or Peter, or Remy, or…"

"I need you to sit down — and breathe," Coulson told her as he took her by the shoulders. "We're going to find them and get them back. I promise."

She looked at him openly for a moment and nodded, but that didn't stop the worried flood of, "I looked everywhere. I even checked Essex's old office, and yours, and…"

That got Coulson to stop for a moment and swear under his breath. He should have thought of Essex before. Who else would know what kinds of security they had in place, and have the time to figure out how to get past them?

But he couldn't get caught up in how much he wanted to hunt Essex down at the moment, not when he had a group of upset kids and an even bigger group of missing ones.

"I swear," he said evenly, "we're going to get them back, and whoever took them — they _will_ pay for it."


	46. Pick Your Poison(er)

**Chapter 46: Pick Your Poison(er)**

The only warning that Bobbi had that Hydra was splitting itself wholly from SHIELD was when Viper arrived at her quarters and told her to get moving — only just before the raid itself struck.

She had been expecting a transport to take them back to the rest of Hydra, since Viper had clearly been looking forward to being out of SHIELD's shadow for days now, so she was surprised when, instead of heading for the exits, Viper led them both deeper into SHIELD itself.

The chaos of the raid was already echoing around them by the time they reached the Tahiti Wing, and Bobbi was surprised when, among the ranks of green-clad soldiers, she recognized the tall, pale doctor that had once been head of the Tahiti program.

"I take it you found a way in?" she asked Viper, not even bothering to hide the surprise.

"I did. It was a little more troublesome than I'd hoped, but luckily, we have a man inside." Viper said she calmly strutted through the hall, looking perfectly in control of the situation.

They reached what seemed to be another part of the wall, but in a moment, the whole thing slid open, and Remy LeBeau waved the three of them inside. "You late," he said Essex's way.

"Don't play games with me, boy," Essex replied as Remy stepped out and kept pace with them. And at that, Remy fell silent, though it was clear to see he wasn't entirely pleased by the glare boring a hole in the back of Essex's head.

"Such a good boy," Viper nearly purred with a pleased smirk. "Where are they? Just point the way — and keep out of mine."

"They ain't all gathered," Remy told her, though Bobbi almost smirked when she saw that he was keeping clear distance between himself and Viper. For as upset as she was to see that one of the Tahiti kids was a Hydra plant, it was at least clear that this boy knew enough to keep his distance from Viper. "Couple in medical, some in trainin' … Not like they all gathered in one place like de rest o' SHIELD. For us, lockdown don't mean nuttin' but not seein' nobody for a while down here. We carryin' on like normal otherwise."

Viper looked almost bored as she directed her following to head down the halls, pausing for a moment to pull her gas mask out. "You might want to put yours on — unless you plan to be carried out as well."

Remy glanced at her for a second before he pulled out his own mask — and Bobbi followed suit as well, actually glad for the fact that it hid her expression. She was torn somewhere between gobsmacked and livid at what was going on.

"Bobbi, darling, if there is one or two that you'd like for yourself, be sure to point them out," Viper advised.

Again, Bobbi was glad that the mask hid her expression. She did _not_ like the idea of any of these kids falling into Viper's grasp. "Last year's girl," she said after a moment's thought, knowing that it wouldn't be possible anyway, since Natasha was on assignment — though Fury hadn't told her where. "The Red Room one."

"Well don't tell _me_ ," Viper said with a shooing motion. "Go find her for yourself, my dear."

The group of Hydra soldiers and the two victors split up as they worked their way through Tahiti. To Bobbi's relief, it looked like a few of the kids _had_ realized something was wrong — medical was locked down, and so were parts of the labs. But for the most part, it seemed the kids had been caught completely and totally off-guard. She kept a mental tally of everyone she saw as she and the soldiers passed through — relieved somewhat to see that at least Quill was hidden somewhere, and so were Skye and Logan. But there weren't many other exceptions.

As she watched a couple soldiers haul off Clint and Wade from where they'd fallen unconscious in the middle of sparring, she had her hand at her hip for only a moment before she caught herself. She couldn't call in backup now — there wasn't a thing they could do. They were all dealing with the raid… so she'd have to get the coordinates first before anything else.

Still, it was hard to school her reaction when that was _Clint_ they were dragging off. She knew what Viper was capable of, and she didn't want that woman anywhere near her sweet Hawkeye.

But she somehow managed a more imperious look by the time Viper arrived. Her training — and self-preservation — had kicked in, but she still was a step away from panicking over these kids.

"We're missing a few important ones," she said, sure to sound properly disappointed and not relieved. "Unless you've found them, there's about half a dozen by my count."

"No," Viper replied shortly, through her teeth. "Of course they're not here." Her good cheer was positively gone as she stalked through the rooms, looking for herself one last time as the soldiers gathered up the kids. "Why is it that _mine_ are never where they should be?"

"Consider it a challenge," Bobbi said consolingly. "You know he'll come looking — considering who we _do_ have."

That got Viper to pause for a moment. "Yes, he will," she said with a nod before she let out a sigh that sounded as if she was totally being put out. "I suppose I'll have a _little_ time to make the whole experience a bit more fun. The bait should work anyhow."

"If it makes you feel any better, mine isn't here either, and she _isn't_ easily baited," Bobbi said, sounding more annoyed than disappointed.

Viper arched one eyebrow her way for a moment. "Oh, I'm sure you can play with one of them in the meantime. Perhaps her little lovesick partner?"

"That's a one-way street. She won't come for him," Bobbi sighed out, careful not to let anything but disappointment show on her face — though she was doing everything she could to try to shield Clint.

"You don't know until you make him scream properly," Viper replied as she spun on her heel to head toward their transport.

Bobbi frowned for a moment before she followed suit, her throat dry as she saw the last of the kids loaded up. She needed backup, and _fast_.

* * *

It was sheer coincidence that Logan, Skye, and Harry were headed back to base when Coulson hailed them on the radio.

"What's the problem?" Logan asked as he picked up the radio in the copilot chair. "You sound like you might be a titch stressed."

"Just get back to the Tahiti hangar — not the main base. We're going back out as soon as you get in."

"Woah, wait," Logan replied, sitting up a little straighter. "Tell me what's goin' on."

"Hydra raided the base," Coulson explained. "We knew they were coming, and we were prepared for the main assault, but what we _didn't_ know was that they found a way into the Tahiti Wing. They gassed the kids and grabbed as many as they could." The further Coulson got into the explanation, the more upset he sounded — not at all his usual stoic self.

"Why aren't you goin' after 'em now?" Logan asked as Skye dove into the system — already linked up with Stark to find out what he knew.

"Every plane we have that wasn't trashed in the raid is in use — half of them are carrying civilians. We were relocating when we got the news." Coulson let out a breath. "That's why we need you back ASAP."

Logan and Skye shared a look, and Harry looked as if he was ready to pour on the speed. "Do you know where they are?" Logan asked as he got up and headed over to where he kept his armor. Fury didn't have to ask him to keep some with him. He was paranoid enough on his own to do exactly that.

"Our eyes inside Hydra sent us coordinates, but Logan — we're sending you out with backup. These people were prepared. They'll be ready for a rescue attempt too."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, adjusting the straps at his sides and not at all looking like he had any plans to go back to base first.

"Logan, you get your butt back here so I can come with you. They futzing took _Kurt,_ and I am going to shoot them _dead_ ," Kate's voice rang out; it was clear she'd stolen the microphone from Coulson.

There was a little pause before Logan responded. "What the hell makes you think I'm not headed to base right now?" Logan asked as Skye brought the coordinates she'd gotten moments before from Stark up to Harry.

"Because you're _you_ , and I'm telling you, don't be you for just a few minutes — just long enough to let me help, _please_!"

"Trickshot, I have no control whatsoever on where this plane goes," Logan said as he gave Harry a dirty look that clearly read that he needed to readjust course _right now_. "I just get out when it lands."

"That's not — _Logan_!"

"Trickshot, I swear to God I'm not navigatin' the plane," Logan promised, though he was already into the small armory at the back of the plane and not at all hiding the fact that he was putting magazines into the molle vest — and as he finished the sentence, the slide to his sidearm snapped shut.

"Oh, I hate you so much sometimes," came Kate's very frustrated voice over the comms, which had Skye outright laughing into her hand.

"Katie, what did I _ever_ do to you?" he asked.

"You know full well what you are _doing right now_."

"Right now, I'm sittin' behind the copilot chair like any other good little passenger." Which was at least half true, since he was actually settling in behind the copilot chair.

There was a very obvious noise of frustration and a muffled noise as Coulson clearly tried to get the mic back before Kate said, "Fine. Just get him back fast."

"Kate." Logan sounded totally put out. "I'd need clearance from the _director_ for any kind of an impromptu rescue mission, and I haven't heard a word from Fury since I left base."

Which. of course, prompted Skye to fall into a fit of giggles as she kept mouthing, "Do it!" at him.

"You're not funny Skye," Coulson said through the mic. "I know what you're doing, and it's _not_ funny."

"It really is, AC," Skye said, still unsuccessfully trying to keep in her giggles. "Don't worry; we're all safe. I've even got some repulsors from Stark's lab he was letting me borrow to study. It's _fine_."

"Skye…" Coulson's tone was nearly resigned.

"Call you back in a bit! Bye!"

* * *

Whatever Hydra had hit the kids with, it left a strange, almost cottony feeling in their mouths, and that was the first sensation that Kurt was aware of as he started to come back to consciousness. His hearing came back next, a little muffled, but he could hear the slow waking-up groans and moans around him as, when his sight finally came back too, he saw that just about all of Tahiti was gathered in one place.

He didn't recognize where they were at all, though it was hard to see much. It was a basement or dungeon of some kind, the center of it carved out for what amounted to a deep pit, and the more he saw of the place, the less he liked the feel of it.

The others were in varying stages of consciousness as well, and he watched Miles help Kamala sit up and clear her head before he crouched next to Peter and Gwen, a frown clear on his face. "Where is Kate?" he asked Peter at a whisper. "We're missing a few of our number."

Peter looked around groggily and frowned along side Kurt. "I don't … I don't know. Maybe they didn't get her."

"For their sake, they'd better not have," Kurt said with a deeply settled glare, his voice nearly a growl.

Peter nodded solemnly, though there wasn't much more anyone could add. Not when they didn't know what was going on. Still, they were exactly holding their breath for answers, so when they heard footsteps approaching above their heads somewhere beyond the edge of the pit they were in, most of the Tahiti kids were already on the defensive.

"Is everyone awake?" A familiar voice asked, echoing down over their heads moments before Essex came into view with a cold, satisfied looking smirk.

"Nope, clearly not," Peter said in a small voice. "Dreaming of vampires," he added under his breath to Kurt.

Essex focused on him with a hard glare before he drew in a deep breath. "Ah yes, the comedian. Well. I suppose now is as good a time as any to lay down some ground rules." He came up to the edge of where they stood and sneered down at them. "You _will_ do as I say."

"Yeah, that's a big, fat, no," Clint said, crossing his arms to return the glare.

"Oh, I wish you were the right candidate to prove how wrong you were, but I'd like for _all_ of the rotten little Tahiti brats to actually _care_ when I make my point." Essex glared at him hard. "As I was saying — you will do as I say, or you will pay the price," he said. "Pain. Like you've never felt. And should you push me too far, I'll be forced to let your friends watch you die." He paused and turned toward Billy Kaplan. "Of course … I suppose one of you could give testimony."

"Yeah, they already took that out, and I doubt you've got anything that measures up," Billy grumbled, arms crossed over his chest and clearly not happy about the reminder of what he'd been through in the Games.

Essex smiled cruelly. "Are you sure of that?" he said with a growing grin.

"I'm… starting not to be," Billy said quietly.

Essex tossed down a handful of collars before he instructed them all to snap them on. "Unless, of course, you require a demonstration." He looked them all over carefully. "In which case, I can simply drop each of you in turn and put them on you myself."

"Okay, but, see, here's the thing," Miles said as he examined one of the collars with a clear look of distaste. "If we put them _on_ , then you can _hurt_ us."

"Oh, but I can hurt you _now,_ " Essex replied, still smiling to himself.

"Not all of us," Gwen said quietly, and when the kids looked her way, she said, a little louder, "Even if he found a way to keep that poison — that was just for the Quarter Quell. Right?"

"Do you really believe that?" Essex challenged, his eyes glittering maliciously. His gaze found Billy, the smile growing until he hit a button. Billy flinched — but it was Cassie that collapsed screaming and in obvious pain. And all the while, Essex never dropped his gaze from Billy, who was himself breathing heavily and clearly starting to panic at just the memory of what had happened.

"Stop it!" Kamala shouted, and while she was rushing to help, Wade got there first to scoop Cassie up, looking more livid than any of them had ever seen him.

It was Miles who took the collar he'd been examining and quickly snapped it on, glancing at the others half-pleadingly until, slowly, they started to follow suit — with Wade last of all and still holding onto Cassie with that same expression.

Almost on cue, the sound of heels clicking on the stone floor echoed, and Viper's face appeared over the edge of the pit — followed moments later by Bobbi, who looked like she was almost giving them a warning look.

"Are they all complying?" Viper asked, looking as if every one of them in the pit was some distasteful creature.

"Oh, I see," Clint said, seeming to direct his comments at both Viper and Essex at the same time. "Had to get things set before the Mrs. came home."

Viper sneered down at him. "You never were funny, Mr. Barton."

"You weren't built with a sense of humor, Miss Sarkissian. The mad scientist forgot to include one."

"Hmm," she said as if she was mulling it over before she turned to Bobbi. "I think I have a use for that one if you're not interested."

Bobbi frowned her way and seemed to take a moment. "You told me I could use him to get his partner."

"I thought you said that was a hopeless one-way street," she said, neither of them now looking at any of the kids.

"Like you said, it's worth a shot," Bobbi said. "If we're wrong, you can have him."

"Fine," Viper replied, sounding put out before she waved her hand. "You can take him for now." She looked over them all very carefully, but it was clear her gaze was drawn to one over the others. "It's just too easy." She shrugged and tipped her head to Kurt. "The curly-haired boy."

"Yeah, listen, if you're picking charity auction dates, that one's taken, sorry," Clint said, halfway in front of Kurt.

"Oh, sweet little bird," Viper said with a growing smile. "We're not after dates. We're after _bait._ And you'll both work out quite perfectly." She looked over the group one more time. "Unless, of course, you'd rather trade places with your little friend?" She was looking at Peter now, challenging both of them.

"In a second," Peter said at the same time Kurt said, "No, of course not."

"Ooh, I do believe this is the first time I've had bait tripping over themselves. How delightful."

"We can't take them both," Bobbi pointed out thoughtfully. "Ronan still wants one."

"We could," Viper said as she glared at Essex in challenge. "Ronan could have the fourth."

"It makes no difference to me," Essex told them both. "I have enough subjects here for my own purposes."

"Can you imagine," Viper said with an obvious laugh of delight. "How quickly the girl will come running when we have all three?"

"You really don't want to do that," Kurt said with his eyes narrowed.

"And why is that?" Viper asked, smiling his way.

"Because if they don't kill you, I will."

She looked as if her night couldn't possibly get any better as she came as close to a giggle as Bobbi had ever seen. "Oh yes. That one. For sure. The spider isn't nearly as fiery. But don't dispose of him … just in case."

"You two, stay to the center," Essex directed Clint and Kurt before he lowered two ropes from directly over the center of the pit on a hydraulic lift. "If anyone but those two touches it or tries to — you'll regret it."

Kurt and Clint glanced at each other — and Kurt glanced at Peter as well, who was half standing in front of Gwen and looking wide-eyed — before each of them seemed to hold their breaths and take hold of the ropes, which lifted them both up and out.

* * *

From a hidden corner, Clara Creed watched as Kurt and Clint handed themselves over to Viper and Bobbi, and the girl was simply fuming. With a deep scowl, she waited for Essex to clear out of the room before she took her quick route outside and called for her wolf friend to join her.

She let Ella inside and led her to a very well-hidden corner that gave the wolf a clear running shot at anyone who might walk back in toward the pit. She found a scarf that she'd stolen from Essex's office, held it out to the wolf, and told her to attack if he came back to the pit.

With that done, she headed out to check on Scott. She knew Essex's schedule — and how little he deviated from it, even when things were busy — so she knew she had time to fill Scott in on what was going on.

When she got into his room, she looked fit to spit fire as she stalked up to his cage. "I still couldn't find a way to get through to SHIELD, but I don't think that's going to be a problem."

"What's changed?" he asked, getting to his feet with a look of concern at her expression.

"Essex and Hydra kidnapped nearly every one of the kids from Tahiti," Clara said.

Scott's expression shifted immediately to pure concern. "All of…"

"All but about … oh. Maybe half a dozen," she said. "By my count. I could be wrong. There could be more."

"I didn't know there were that many… and he's got _all_ of them?" Scott asked, taking a few pacing step in what little space he had in the cell.

"Looked like. Viper and Mockingbird picked out two to take back to whatever rock they crawled out from under."

"That just doesn't track. Essex isn't big on just… letting people mess with his test subjects."

"Essex is tied in with Ronan," Clara said. "They're trying to bait in some girl from Two and I think the girl from Logan's alliance — and Logan."

"So most of the ones they don't have," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Doesn't look like they got anyone in the science department." She paused and tipped her head. "Except Gwen. And Miles."

"Neither of them should be here," Scott said, a bit of heat coming to his tone at the mention of two of the youngest tributes from their year. "We have to — there's got to be a way to get them out."

"Oh, and you're under some delusion that _you_ should be?" she challenged. "They all need to get out. You too."

"I've been here for almost a year at this point," he pointed out. "If we can get them out before Essex has the chance to get started on them like he's done to me…"

"So what? You're giving up?" She was glaring at him openly. "Didn't take you for a quitter, Summers."

"I'm not giving up — I'm just saying there's a priority to this," he argued.

"Yes. And it has me wondering why you're the princess in the tower instead of thrown in with the others."

Scott shrugged openly. "I don't know. I really don't. I don't know why I wasn't in Tahiti or why Essex hasn't just killed me for not listening to him. I just don't know."

"Well let me make this clear to you," Clara said very quietly as she held his gaze. "I'm not leaving without you."

"I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you to help them," Scott said.

"You are the most infuriating person to agree with, do you know that?" She said as she pointed one finger at him. "We're agreeing all the way down the line on this, except you're just phrasing it stupid. Just … shut up and accept that I'm going to rescue my ruby quartz damsel in distress, alright?"

He held up both hands with a crooked smirk. "If I agree with you, are you going to keep being mad at me?"

"Shut up," she shot back as she crossed her arms. She turned away from him to head out. "I'm going to send a rescue party your way. Like it or not."

"And miss the chance to play knight in shining armor yourself?"

She stopped in the doorway to shoot him a smile. "I'll get a piggyback ride from whoever's on the rescue party."

"I look forward to it," Scott said, then added, before she could leave, "And be careful, Clara. I don't want to see you in a cage too."

"See you soon, fearless."


	47. Slave Traders

**Chapter 47: Slave Traders**

* * *

"Look, we don't have much of anything for intel — this place shouldn't even _be_ out here — so we don't know what we're going to find, alright?" Skye said as she pulled on the little repulsors over her hands.

Logan nodded, watching her carefully. "Yeah. Don't rush ahead of me, got it?"

"I don't plan to," she promised. "Bobbi only sent coordinates and a time frame before the Capitol gets here — which is not much time to work with."

"And we're sure we don't want to wait for that?"

"You really want to try to take on two armies when we don't even know where to _look_ for the Tahiti kids?"

"I'll be done with the first one before the second one shows up," he said with his chin tipped up a bit.

"You know Kamala's there, right? She is _not_ as forgiving of nudity as you're used to," she teased. "Her brother will probably try to kill you."

"Won't be the first."

"Look, we don't even know if everyone's still _there_. Let's just take this as it comes and please, _please_ try not to get too shot up, huh?"

He looked honestly insulted for a moment. "I … do _not_ get too shot up," he defended as he pulled her mask down over her face and made doubly sure her identity was hidden completely.

"Mmhmm. That's why you and Simmons see each other more than she sees Fitz."

"That's his fault, not mine." He turned toward the doors that were about to open. "And I'll clear the path for you. Keep it clear. You find a way to get 'em out of whatever trouble they're in."

"Yeah, no worries. I know I'm not good enough to take on a whole army myself just yet," she said with a nod. "I'll just focus on the rescue part of this mission."

Logan turned Harry's way. "Keep the engine running, wouldja?"

"Hey!" Harry called back, doing his best job to sound irritated. "I don't tell you how to do your job!" With that, he hit the button that opened the doors, and the two of them headed for the massive building at a near dead run.

Logan didn't even try to slow down as he made his approach, taking shots at the snipers on the roof first and flat out decking anyone stupid enough to get too close to him on the way in. But he was leaving an open path for Skye, and by the time she caught up to him at the door, he was putting his boot to it to kick it in.

Inside the house was a different story. Soldiers clad in green were everywhere, and Logan had switched to bare fists until one of the soldiers sent a bullet over his shoulder — which got him to stop for just long enough for Skye to swear before the claws came out to shred the guy.

"Not five minutes in and you're half covered in blood. Gotta be a record," Skye commented dryly. Logan gave her a look before he wordlessly headed toward where the highest concentration of green uniforms had come from, fighting his way through them in the closed spaces until they were deeply into the house.

For the most part, for as tight as it was, he was going mostly bare-knuckled while Skye blasted them away from both of them using Stark's repulsors. No one was going to sneak up on them if she had anything to do with it. Or course, her repertoire of dirty tricks was expanding by the minute just by watching him work — as Logan went absolutely no-holds-barred on anyone that came within arm's reach of either of them.

At least until the hall opened up into a very broad, well-lit room with high ceilings — and their assailants suddenly put a lot of distance between them, leaving Logan and Skye in the center of the room while they kept to the walls. "Don't talk," he whispered to her suddenly. "At all."

A door at the far end of the room opened, and two familiar green-clad women came out of it, though they weren't alone. Both Kurt and Clint were trailing behind Bobbi and Viper, wearing the collars that Essex had given them, though Viper had added her own touch so that she and Bobbi could more easily lead the boys around by the neck, a long chain attached at the front of either collar that had Logan's eyes narrowing even further, especially when he saw that both of the boys were simply out of it, their eyes unfocused as they occasionally had to be prompted to keep moving with a sharp tug on the chain.

"Oh look," Viper said, obviously delighted when she saw Logan. "You're always so prompt."

"Why don't you just make this easy and let 'em go now," Logan suggested.

Viper laughed, seemingly even more delighted, and shook her head. "You have it backwards, my darling. Make it easier on yourself and your friends and come quietly, _willingly,_ and I might even let them live."

"We have very different definitions of 'willingly'," Logan replied. "I got a better idea. If you wanna keep breathin', let 'em go without any scratches."

"You would have to make it worth my while," Viper countered.

Logan paused and watched her for a moment — until Skye squeezed his arm the slightest as she stood almost behind him. He barely turned his head, though he didn't take his gaze off of Viper. "I don't have anything you'd appreciate."

Viper grinned widely at him, openly giving him a once-over. "Oh, I'm sure that's patently false."

"I've seen how you play with your toys," he replied. "I'm not interested. Especially when I'm right."

"Oh, I'll be the judge of that," Viper said in a low, near purr. She was in a great mood as she seemed to take him in for a moment and then glanced toward Skye. "And you even brought a toy for Bobbi. Thoughtful of you both to come so quickly."

"Why? You wanna play patty-cake with her?" Logan asked.

Bobbi looked Logan's way with an eyebrow raised. "I didn't think she'd come for her old partner," she said, making it crystal clear if it wasn't before that Viper thought Skye was Natasha. "I guess I was wrong."

"Shows what you know about loyalty," Logan drawled out easily as he finally met Bobby's gaze.

As Bobbi fell into a glare for that one, Viper let out a breath and waved a hand. "Enough small talk," she said, her eyes glittering with excitement. "We'll start with those claws of yours. Hand them over."

"You wanna start with the claws?" Logan asked before he gave her a wicked smile. "I'd love to."

She sneered at him and let the husky tone slip into a far more commanding one. "Remove the gauntlets, or I can promise your friend won't be standing of his own accord any longer," Viper said, her eyes flashing for an instant, her hand going to what Logan now saw was a controller in the pocket of her green jacket.

He let his shoulders visibly drop as he shook his head and took the gauntlets off, glaring at her hard as he held them out. "You want 'em that bad — come and get 'em."

Viper smiled wider as she strutted forward to take them — not at all expecting the attack when it came, since everyone thought the claws came from the gauntlets, not his arms themselves.

As soon as she closed her hand around the wrapped-up black material, he popped the claws in his other hand and jammed them into her stomach, even going so far as to let go of what Viper had and pull her closer until she was gasping over his shoulder in shock. He glared at Bobbi over Viper's shoulder the whole time.

The green-clad soldiers looked like they might move in to help, but Bobbi waved them back as she sprang forward, pulling Viper back from Logan a moment before she rushed him as well, both of her staves singing against his claws when they met.

They were a few inches from each other when he heard her mutter, "It's only sedation; not poison — not too bad anyway. It'll wear off in a few hours." They fought at a quick pace again until Bobbi could get close once more, this time adding, "The rest are in the basement or in the labs — now make it look good."

When she was done with her message, he turned his claws against her staves to slice them into four pieces before he pushed her back with a look that was clearly an invitation for more. She let out a cry like fury on the loss of her staves before she dove back in with renewed energy, expertly dodging his claws even without the staves.

As they were going back and forth, he couldn't help but smile over her shoulder when he got her into a solid grip. "We can play here all day while your boss bleeds out. Be a nice way to spend a few more hours. Tops. I only got her liver."

Bobbi glanced toward where Viper was — the older woman was clearly and acutely aware of how right Logan was — and seemed to think it over. "The controls for Viper," she finally offered. "I'd take you out myself, but I have more pressing matters, apparently."

"You can try anytime, sweetheart," he growled back before he grabbed her and tossed her at Viper.

She knelt down beside the green-clad woman and was already moving to staunch the bleeding, sliding the controllers his way without looking and muttering under her breath about fake gauntlets.

"C'mon, Widow," Logan called toward Skye, who caught on fast as they headed right for Kurt and Clint. She snatched up the controllers, and a few moments later, he'd carefully cut their collars off with one claw barely out enough to slip under the back side, the curved, dull part against their necks. "Guess I broke my promise about not scratching him."

But once they got a little further from Bobbi and Viper, they were frustrated to find that their efforts to revive Kurt and Clint were completely worthless, even with the collars off. "Any idea how to get to the labs?" Logan asked, still trying to get either of the boys to get it together more than to stand with help.

"No idea," Skye muttered quietly. "This place isn't laid out normally. It's all… evil lair chiq."

"Well, considering who we've seen so far, color me surprised," he replied dryly. "Here — you prop up Kurt, I'll get the big one." He looked around them for a moment. "Guess we can go looking and see how many trips it's going to take to get them to the plane."

"If they're all like this, we're not going to get them out before the Capitol gets here," Skye agreed with a frown as she slid her shoulders under Kurt's arm to gently direct him.

"Then we better get moving," Logan said before he pinched Clint's side to get him to hold up a little more of his own weight.

They headed down the opposite hall that they'd come in — though, thankfully, there seemed to be less of a Hydra presence past that main gathering point. But they couldn't see anything that looked like access to a basement like Bobbi had told Logan until part of the wall seemed to slide open of its own accord and Clara Creed motioned for both of them to join her — quickly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Logan asked, honestly happy to see her.

"Same as you," she said as she waved them through. Once the door was shut behind them, she looked them over with a small frown, noting the fact that they each had a Tahiti kid to support. "Most of the kids are in the basement; I can take you there," she said toward Skye. "There's a few in the labs, though." She pointed down the hall. "Second right, and third door down with a padlock. The key's 72688."

"Got it," Logan said with a nod. "We have a plane, so let's meet up with all of 'em, and I'll cut those collars off before we board."

"We'll come to you," Clara said as she moved to relieve Logan of his overly tall burden. "I want to be sure we got everyone before we leave."

"See you in a few then," he said with a nod before he headed off the direction that Clara had pointed out at a dead run. When he got there, he was even more furious to find several of the Tahiti kids in _cages_ — half terrified at his entrance, though when they saw it was him instead of their tormentor, they relaxed substantially.

Logan looked angry but went right for Peter Parker's cage, fully expecting Peter to fill him on on what the hell was going on as he popped one claw and cut through the locks.

"Man oh man, do you have good timing or what," Peter said in a tone filled with obvious relief.

"What's goin' on, Petey?" Logan asked as Gwen was the next one set free, and a moment later, Miles joined the party too before he headed over to an anxious looking Billy. "Relax, kid," Logan directed to Billy. Those collars are gonna be off in about five seconds."

"Did you find Clint and Kurt? 'Cause Viper and Bobbi took them off somewhere before Essex started picking out lab mice," Peter said.

"Yeah, Viper and Bobbi aren't in this fight anymore," Logan promised. "Stabbed one and let the other one drag her off."

"Okay, good." Peter sounded relieved. "Those two were creeping me the heck out."

"Yeah, and we were the ones stuck with the vampire," Gwen agreed with a little frown.

Logan gave her a look of confusion before he waved her forward with one claw part way out. "Collar has to go," he told her. "Don't move."

Gwen held perfectly still for Logan as Peter bounced anxiously beside her, though it was Miles who pointed out, "We should get moving — he's probably coming back."

"Good," Logan said. "I think I need to have a word with this jackass."

When the four of them were free of their collars, they made a quick dash for the door… until Logan had to stop. There was a dull sound coming from one of the adjoining rooms.

When Peter saw Logan stop, he quickly gestured for the others to quiet down — one hand over Miles' mouth as he listened hard to see if he could catch whatever it was that Logan was concentrating on.

"Come on," Logan said, turning toward the noise, and the closer they got to the sound, the clearer it was that someone was calling out for Clara. Logan looked at the four of them and frowned. "How many other rooms are there down here like this?" He grabbed the door handle and shook it — though it was locked.

"No idea. It's very rat-in-a-maze around here," Miles said.

"Look around and see if there's anyone else tucked away in here," Logan said before he sent a claw through the lock and pushed open the door. But the whole group froze, and Logan fell absolutely silent, when they saw the young man strapped down to a surgical table with trays of tools around him just waiting to be used.

Logan stepped forward and started cutting loose the restraints that were holding Scott down - though Peter noted that Logan was very close to shaking in rage on seeing _Scott_ like that. Clearly, he hadn't given Logan enough credit for exactly how much he held _back._

As soon as Scott was able to sit up again, he did so, looking relieved as he asked, "Have you seen Clara?"

Logan nodded almost imperceptibly, though he didn't trust himself to open his mouth. Instead, he turned on his heel after the last restraint was cut and made quick work of any door that connected to the main room before he simply started to head out of the labs.

Peter frowned as he watched Logan work, though when he glanced over at Scott, he wasn't surprised to see the Scott had a similar frown on.

"Who's still left?" Scott asked at last as the group of them fell into step to keep up with Logan's path of destruction.

"Well, let's see … ah, last count … pretty much everybody," Peter replied.

"I don't actually know how many that is, sorry," Scott told him with a rueful sort of look.

"Right, of course not," Peter said. "I mean ... glad to see you breathing and all, they said you didn't make it. And … whoever did this..." he gestured to Scott. "...is not going to be if he's still around by the time we leave." He tipped his head toward Logan, who was clearing a path. A handful of Hydra soldiers had gotten in his way — but they really weren't there for long before they were bodies to be stepped over. "He's a little upset right now."

"Yeah, well, we can deal with the who and the how later. The sooner we get out of here, the better," Scott said with a frown.

They were nearly to the foyer, where Logan had last seen Clara, when a voice familiar to the kids echoed out above them and got Logan to spin to face him. He'd put his claws away in the hall and had gone back to flexing his fists, itching to tear into him.

"And just where, exactly, do you think you're going?" Essex asked, looking over the small group of them with a clear glare.

"None of your damn business," Logan called back. "This was your doin'? You had 'em in flamin' _cages?_ What the hell is wrong with you?" He gestured to Scott, though he couldn't keep from shouting. "And him? What were you doing to him?"

"I'd explain my research into the Tahiti process, but I doubt you could follow it," Essex said dismissively.

"So _you're_ the jackass Fury fired?" Logan said through his teeth.

Essex sneered at him as he slowly made his way down the stairs. "You should be thanking me, you ungrateful little vermin. If it weren't for my research, _none_ of your friends would be alive right now."

"And none of them would have been bein' used like freakin' lab rats in cages either, you pompous sack of crap."

Essex waved his hand dismissively. "The cages were only necessary for the moment. For my more _established_ subjects, I don't need them, do I, Scott?"

Logan froze and turned to Scott. "What's he talkin' about, Slim?" It was clear that Logan was barely holding back from simply chasing down Essex and beating him to death.

Scott started to answer, but Essex beat him to it. "The collars were just for ease," he told Logan, clearly starting to smirk. "A faster solution to disobedience than the poisons I have waiting in their veins — though not nearly as painful or instructive."

"Bullshit," Logan spat.

"Um, Logan — don't — don't try to call the bluff on this one?" Peter muttered quietly. "Because it's not a bluff, and last time someone did that, he hit Cassie with it."

He stared at Peter openly before his eyes narrowed to slits, and his lip curled in disgust.

Essex chuckled above them. "So you finally understand," he said, clearly starting to enjoy himself. "You can slip the collars, even break down my doors. But you cannot _leave_." He reached into his coat and produced another collar. "Now, I could demonstrate for you on one of your friends, or you could accept my word and follow along like the rest of them. I'm sure there are uses for you, even if you wouldn't be a suitable subject for study yet."

"You want me to wear that damn thing you'll have to put it on me yourself."

Essex glared at him for a moment before he slowly started to nod. "Leave your weapons on the floor and come here. No tricks, or the poison I use will be fatal this time. I tire of having to repeatedly prove myself."

Logan glared up at him and unloaded the sidearm before he set it on the ground and kicked it away, keeping his gaze on Essex, while Miles was muttering to Gwen, "This is very bad," the whole time.

"I'm not a fool, Logan," Essex said in an impatient tone. "I saw the damage you inflicted on my way here. Your claws as well. Not just the gauntlets — bare arms."

"You want me to take my shirt off?" Logan asked, clearly trying to show how stupid the request was.

"I want you to prove you are unarmed. I'm not as easily fooled as Ronan or Sarkissian."

"So that's a yes," Logan said under his breath. "Jackass." He did, however, throw the gauntlets aside with a clatter before the long-sleeved shirt followed, and he held his hands up at head level. "Happy now?"

Essex watched him for a moment with narrowed eyes before he nodded. "It's adequate," he allowed, motioning for Logan to come up the walkway to where he was. "As for the rest of you — you'll return to the others until I can repair the damage to my lab."

Logan let out a breath and glanced toward the others before he slowly started to make his way forward, looking positively murderous when he stopped a solid twenty feet from Essex, fists clenched at his sides and glaring hard.

Essex let out a tut at Logan's halted progress as he strode forward with the collar in hand and a half-hissed, "Willful pest."

"If I'm such a pest, what the hell do you want me for?" Logan challenged.

"Even pests have their uses — and you may still have a few," Essex replied as he moved to snap the collar on Logan.

But at the last moment, Logan stepped back, and a ringing _snikt_ echoed the air, followed by a thud as Essex's hand with the collar hit the ground. Shocked, Essex hastily reached for the controller — and that hand landed not six inches from the first before Logan dove at him with a wordless shout, all six claws shining as he tore into him — starting out with both fists into Essex's stomach. He tossed him over his head and turned to follow, still nothing but rage and claws as Essex tried in vain to stop the assault.

The kids who had come with Logan were clearly shocked — and a little disturbed — by the display as Logan kept tearing the creepy doctor down piece by piece. Gwen couldn't watch it — and Miles wasn't far behind, one hand clapped over his eyes. Though Peter was just… staring. Because, well, there were _claws_. Coming _out of Logan_.

Essex had long ago stopped offering any resistance — at first unable to fight back, but now, he was clearly limp and, frankly, dead as well — but Logan kept right on pounding on the guy barefisted until Scott called out, "We don't have time for this. Shouldn't we be meeting up with the others while we have an exit window and no Hydra in our path?"

Logan paused, out of breath and trying hard to get his control back — though he wasn't sure if it was from how _hard_ he'd been hitting the guy for all the wrong he'd done or if it was just because the anger hadn't really ebbed. "Yeah," he said after a moment, standing slowly and leaning against the rail before he picked up the controller and opened it up, ripping the controls away from the power source before he just crushed it. "Where's the basement?"

"South of here," Scott said, pointing the way. "I can show you the way if you're done now."

Logan jogged down the stairs and picked up his gun and discarded shirt to try and clean up some of the gore as he tipped his head toward Scott, jaw still locked tightly shut.

Scott frowned his way for a second, not quite sure what to make of what he'd seen, before he simply turned and led the way down — and they met up with Clara and Skye along with the rest of the kids on their way up from the basement.

"Everyone alright?" Scott asked Clara as he looked past her to see way more kids than he had been expecting. "Is, ah, is this all of them?"

"Yep, every last one," Peter said as he did a quick head count. "Is … Is Kurt alright?"

"Drugged, but he'll be okay once we get him and Hawkeye back home," Skye promised, still with Kurt's arm around her shoulders.

Logan reloaded his pistol and led the way to the exit as a silent means of _showing_ the group where they were going, clearly still too furious for words. When he stepped outside, it was to start popping off any green clad soldiers he could see to keep the path cleared for the group as they ran to the plane Harry had waiting for them.

They were barely out the door when Clara whistled shrilly, and her massive wolf came tearing along beside her, loading up with the rest of them — which was at least shocking enough that the kids had something to focus on besides the trauma of what had happened and what was going to happen to them.

They all loaded up into the plane, and Logan followed the group in before the doors closed. The kids were all taking stock of each other, of course worried over their friends, a few of them sparing glances at Skye until she took off the mask and waved at Scott — though Scott didn't get to sit down before he was nearly bowled over by Kamala.

He was surprised for only a second before he spun with the hug and returned it just as firmly, honestly grinning. "It's good to see you too," he told her, though she wasn't about to let go of him anytime, apparently, and even when he tried to get a seat on the plane, she seated herself firmly beside him, positively _beaming_.

"I can't even believe — they said you were _dead_ — and you just _show up_ in this creepy Hydra place and just…" Kamala trailed off, unable to quite form a full sentence before she hugged Scott all over again.

And while Kamala was nearly gushing her excitement, one more of the youngest in the group made his way over, wide-eyed until he sat down across from Kamala and Scott. When Scott looked up to see Alex, his whole expression shifted, too.

"Alex-"

He didn't get any further than that before Alex broke form and darted over, positively crushing Scott in a hug. "Just shut up for two seconds, Scott."

But all that did was get Scott to switch from his disbelieving look to a broader smile as he returned the hug in spades. "Love you too, Alex."

And while the kids were reuniting and checking on each other, Logan had to carefully step over and around people as he made his way to the copilot chair and dropped in beside Harry, still slightly shaking as he pulled on a clean shirt he'd grabbed on his way through.

"Want me to radio ahead?" Harry asked, not surprised in the least when Logan only nodded his head once. "You mad still even after the fight?" Harry said, shaking his head. "That's not good for anyone."

Skye made her way over as well with a little frown. "What happened?" she asked. "Are you alright?"

But Logan shook his head — a mark of how mad he was if he was admitting he wasn't okay — positively fuming the further out they got.

Peter took Skye by the arm and pulled her over to sit by himself, Kurt, and Gwen. "He's… particularly stabby right now. That creep was… well, I mean. He's dead now? Which is great? But…" He shook his head. "Yeah, you sorta had to be there to see it. It was not nice. On either side."

Skye frowned at that and glanced over at Logan, then simply had to nod. "Alright," she said as she sat down.

Of course, while that meant that no one was bothering Logan, that didn't mean the flight back was quiet in the least. Everyone had questions. Skye was the one to explain how they'd gotten Kurt and Clint from the two Hydra ladies, and Clara gave a few short answers as to how she'd wound up wrapped up in this as well, but it was Scott who had to do most of the explaining.

Which wasn't exactly helping Logan's mood as the captive audience listened to Scott explain how he'd woken up in Essex's labs, how Essex had him and a few others running missions for him and for Hydra. How when they weren't running missions, Essex was running his own experiments, trying to find the limits of the components of Tahiti, looking for a preventative drug, of sorts.

"His theory was that long-term exposure, or repeated exposure, or something, would eventually boost his body's own healing so he could come back from anything, sort of like preventative healing," Scott said. "The problem is: the healing drugs they used go into overdrive on a healthy body." He winced slightly. "There's about a month I don't remember after that 'discovery'… but I know he just took that to mean the rest of us lab rats needed the dose of healing after any mission." He shook his head. "Almost makes me glad I didn't run as many of those… though he was still finding ways to test what the process could heal. Not just injuries but things like thirst or malnutrition…"

"Well that didn't work out too well for him in the immediate future, did it?" Peter said quietly, though everyone else in the jet seemed to have fallen into a sort of horrified silence.

"It was just a theory," Scott said with a frown. "Guess he was wrong. But that's part of why Hydra was so interested — if he had been right, that would have been practically a key to immortality."

As they were talking, a small formation of SHIELD planes passed them quickly going in the opposite direction and they all shared a look of concern until Harry called out to them from the cockpit. "Bombing run," he said with a chuckle. "Fury's pissed. Maybe he'll luck out and nail Ronan while he's visiting."

"Well, he _should_ be mad," Miles said with his arms crossed over his chest. "That _sucked_."

"No kidding," Cassie agreed quietly from where she was still curled into Wade's side — he had carried her out, too. And Luke was sitting just beside them both, looking almost mad that he didn't get to do more to get back at the people who had tortured them.

Still, the flight fell mostly silent after that. Most of the kids were too mortified to really press for more details from Scott on what had happened to him — mostly because they knew it would have been their fate too. And beyond that, they were tired, the adrenaline crashing on them. They just wanted to go back to base — or, more appropriately, get to the new base, which they could only hope was safer than the one they'd just been kidnapped from.

When they finally arrived, the kids all filed out of the plane, with Peter and Steve supporting Kurt and Clint, respectively. The medics took the two drugged boys first before they started to make the rounds to check and see if anyone else was hurt — no one escaped their scrutiny.

May and Coulson were there too, of course — but so were Hill and Fury. They'd come out in force to make sure that their Tahiti kids were alright, every one of them fearing the worst. Still, when Clara came out with her wolf, they looked surprised… and then downright shocked when Scott followed her out with Kamala still with her arm looped through his and Alex trying to fill him in on what he would have been told on a tour if he'd woken up with the rest of them.

Logan left the plane last, only just before Harry, and he made a beeline right to the four adults waiting for them. All of them looked concerned, but they all backed off when Logan grabbed Fury and slammed him against the nearest wall, snarling inches from his face. "What the hell kind of super spy doesn't even know what's going on in their own freakin' house?" he hissed out. "They were in _cages. Being experimented on."_

"They were _what_?" Coulson looked completely thunderstruck — and even more upset and concerned than before, if that was possible.

"Cassie has some kind of poison inside her body. The damn thing was connected to a button that your Essex creep was holding," Logan explained, still in Fury's face. "He said they all had 'em. Now where'd he get an idea like that?"

"You need to calm down," Fury replied evenly, though Logan responded simply by pulling him back and slamming him harder.

"Stand _down_ ," Hill said, her eyes narrowed as she took a step forward. "Whatever went down, it wasn't SHIELD, and you know it — now step back before you get yourself in even more trouble."

"Before _I'm_ in more trouble?" Logan challenged, turning her way. "By my count, I just did _another_ freakin' mission for you at the drop of a hat and fixed your mistake!" He pushed Fury one more time, then stepped back. "You'll have a hell of a time disarming me. Bring it. I don't see much difference between you and them right now." He turned on his heel and stomped off, obviously still livid at all of it, though he knew that Fury was right in that he needed to calm down or it _would_ continue to escalate. He got almost to the hall and turned. "You didn't even _know._ How many other kids have you written off that might still be with Hydra? _Unwillingly."_ As he left, all that anyone could make out after that were a few curses and mutterings of 'slave traders' as he went.

Fury let out a clearly disappointed sigh before he turned to the incoming group. "I want all of these kids looked over and any devices or implants they may be carrying removed," he said. "After that, Mr. Summers … welcome back. Officially. I would very much like to have a word with you once you're cleared from medical."

Scott had watched the entire thing with a clear disbelieving frown on, but on being addressed, he turned toward Fury and nodded. "Right, yeah. I'll … get directions."

Fury sighed and turned to Coulson. "I trust you can take care of all that, and for the love of God, get that boy some food. I'm going to go find a bottle of scotch and head after my operative before he puts a hole in something we might actually _need._ "

"Might not be the best idea, with the mood he's in," Hill pointed out.

"Don't you worry too much about that," Fury replied. "We have an understanding."

Coulson watched as Fury left before he turned to the rest of the kids. "You heard him. Medical. All of you," he said before he stepped forward to introduce himself more properly to Scott. "And I am truly sorry that the only face you've had to really deal with was Essex. I hope you'll give us a chance, even if your ex-mentor is ready to burn the building to the ground." He waved Skye over. "I believe you already know Skye. She'll be your tour guide when you get out of medical."

Scott gave Skye a warm smile. "Yeah, we've met," he said. "You were the one the Capitol — or, I guess, SHIELD — sent to Logan in Seven, right?"

She smiled slightly and nodded. "Yeah, that's me," she replied with a little wave. "I'll bet you're at the top of the list for medical right now, even if there are others that are injured. You've been up and around for a while without anyone that's really worth a damn keeping an eye on you, right?"

"I'll be honest: I'm not exactly excited to go waltzing right back into a medical wing," he told her with a little shrug.

"Well I guess if you'd rather rough up the director …"

"Yeah, is that… common?" Scott asked, glancing at the door that both Fury and Logan had disappeared through.

"No, that's just .. they get along way better than is normal for anyone," she admitted. "It's a mystery. No one understands it."

"Yeah, they really looked chummy," Scott said with a smirk.

She smiled his way and nodded. "Yeah, well ... Charles would say that at least they can express themselves, right?" She tipped her head toward the hall. "Come on, let's get it over with so you can start _living._ Away from the creepers. I was totally pulling for you, by the way."

"Well, that makes one person, anyway. I was pulling for Kamala."

"Two people in your favor _anyhow_ ," she corrected, one finger in his face.

"Who's the second?" he asked.

She gave him a disbelieving look. "You're kidding, right?"

He shook his head openly as he moved to follow her. "Unless you're counting Heather and the kids…"

"Wow. Denial is a real thing in Seven," she said, shaking her head. "I can't believe you guys. And if we count Heather and the kids … that brings the count up to ten, or eleven. Easy." She tipped her head to the side. "At least. The _official_ Hudsons."

That got an honest grin out of him. "That's great! Half those kids were hoping for something to pull through like that."

"Coulson forced the paperwork through just before the revolution started," Skye told him, grinning wider.

"So, where are they now?" he asked. "Did they get out before it all blew up?"

"Don't worry; I'll bring them by when you're done getting looked over in medical," she said. "We had a strike team pull them out ahead of the revolution. They were safe before the first shots were fired. I was on that team myself."

He grinned wider on hearing it. "That's a relief," he told her honestly. "It'd be great to see them again, too."

"You will, but lets get any evil … _things_ out of you first — then Fury, then the Hudsons." She nearly cackled as she spun and took a hold of his arm, her eyes dancing with delight. "Heather's gonna _flip._ "


	48. Almost Like a Dream

**Chapter 48: Almost Like a Dream**

* * *

 _May 10_

 _Tahiti Medical Wing_

* * *

The sensation of waking up from sedation in a medical bed was pretty much familiar at this point, but for a while, Scott lay there with his eyes still closed. While he'd been out, he must have dreamed about getting out again, though this one was a lot more vivid than the ones before, and he wasn't ready to come out of that yet.

But then someone or something was licking his hand, and the sensation was so _un_ familiar that it had him blinking and sitting up a bit — surprised when he didn't hit the restraints as he looked around. As soon as he'd moved, a furry head pushed its way under his hand and kept licking him. It took another second or two to realize that it was a huge timberwolf making friendly and gently wagging its tail.

"Woah," he said, eyes wide, though the wolf was so undeterred in making friendly that he just… very carefully turned his hand to scratch her ears — with half a thought that at least if the wolf decided to turn, he was near medical supplies.

"It looks like Ella likes you," Clara said carefully from the other side of the room.

At that, he turned her way, noticing her for the first time, and broke into a grin. "Ella?" he repeated. "She's yours, then?"

"Of course," Clara replied as she came toward them — and Ella looked to Clara for an instant before she again forced her head under Scott's hand. "How many other people do you know have pet wolves?"

"You'd be the first," he admitted, still grinning her way as he kept scratching Ella's ears — since clearly that was what she was after, by the way the wolf was leaning her head into the scratches. He glanced around the room once more and took a deep breath. Past the surprise of the wolf, and the realization that he was, in fact, somewhere new — he had to take a minute to process it. He still hadn't really had the chance. "Everybody else alright? All the poison — everything — it's gone, right?"

"Everyone is fine," she promised as she took a seat on the edge of his bed. "There was a lot of work going on last night — but Essex lied. Not everyone had the poison. Yet."

"I'm sure they all would have eventually," he said with a little frown. He patted Ella's head once more and then sat up straighter, away from the pillows so he was level with Clara. "What about you? You were in our year."

"They took care of all that before I left SHIELD," she said with a wave. "No one had a chance to mess with me, but they checked anyhow. Considering who was causing the trouble."

He looked obviously relieved as his shoulders relaxed. "So, are we staying here?" he asked.

She looked over at him a little wide-eyed. "I hadn't thought about it, honestly. I mean, I guess that's your call."

"You already left SHIELD once. I'm not gonna be the guy that makes you stay somewhere you don't want to be."

"Funny you put it that way," she said. "Because I was sitting here thinking you've been stuck under one creepy organization this whole time, and I wasn't going to say you had to stay." She took a deep breath. "On the other side of things — SHIELD is trying to shut down Hydra."

"Well, that and the fact that they've cleared out all those control devices puts them in my good books anyway," Scott admitted. He watched her expression as he added, "And I'd really like to stick it to Hydra — and they seem to be of the same mind."

"Well, I'm not fighting unless I have to," she admitted. "But … maybe I could help with medical."

He grinned at that and leaned forward to kiss her full on the mouth before he could really think about it or talk himself out of it — which he was considering — and when the quick kiss broke, he quickly said, "You don't have to stay — I'm fine finding a cabin in Seven or something."

"Well if you're going to keep doing that, I think I'd like to stay with you — _wherever_ that is," she teased.

He grinned wider in answer and kissed her longer this time — not breaking the kiss until Ella had jumped up on the bed to join them for some attention too.

"Oh, Kamala and Miles are dating," she said quietly before she scooted up to sit next to him and snuggle in a little bit.

"Yeah? She talked about him a lot when she was filling me in, but... dating?" He grinned at that.

"Well. As close to dating as one can get in Tahiti," she corrected. "Not like they can go down to the malt shop or something you'd see in the black and white movies. Or you know they would. I can just see them sharing a milkshake with two straws."

He had to laugh at the mental image. "Maybe after the revolution," he said.

"I guess we'll have to wait then," she said. "But I'll pay for it."

He looked surprised for a second before he had to laugh and shake his head. "We're both technically dead. Unless they pay us some kind of salary? Neither of us can pay for it," he pointed out.

"I'm sure there are a few bets being won right now that'll take care of it," she replied. "And for the way that Logan's been getting after the director, I wouldn't be surprised if he _did_ manage to get us all paid for our time."

He smirked and leaned back a little more as he got comfortable, with his arm behind her. "Guess I've got to start over. I almost had enough saved to buy a place once I aged out of the orphanage, you know. Four years of savings…"

"I'm sure we can make sure that you get yourself a house somewhere," she said with a nod.

He shrugged lightly. "That's in the longer term anyway. There is a war on. And… I don't mind fighting, as long as it's for the right team." He leaned slightly into Clara, trying to think of how to explain himself better, but he didn't get the chance when someone else arrived to his room.

"There," Heather said from the door as she stepped inside. "There is my missing boy. _Finally._ "

Mac and the kids were about five steps behind her as she came in, and Clara simply tried to get out of the way — and failed to do so before Heather wrapped them both up in a hug. "So introduce me to your girl, oh, son of mine."

Scott wasn't even sure where to start as he gaped at Heather for a moment, though the smile was tugging at his expression the entire time. "Wait….what?" he asked, his tone somewhere between elation and disbelief.

"It's all official; if you don't believe me, I can go get the paperwork. It was done at the same time that we got all your brothers and sisters all squared away," Heather said before she gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "We missed you _terribly._ "

He still looked completely gobsmacked for a good long while before he had to wrap his arms around her neck and hug her right back — with no idea how to properly respond other than to hold onto her.

"We didn't change your name, though," Mac offered. "It didn't seem right."

"That's…" Scott looked from Heather to Mac with an uncontrollable grin, unable to string two words together, his eyes shining.

"You're pretty," Elsie said to Clara as she pulled at her hand. "But you better be nice to my _brother_ or I'll come after you."

"Right." Scott cleared his throat. "Clara, this ... well... this is Elsie. And… well, the rest of ... my family, apparently," Scott said, trying and failing to sound less emotional than he clearly was.

Clara waved at the group with the tips of her fingers before she rested her hand on the wolf's head. "Hello. I'm Clara, and this is Ella, my travelling partner. We're both pretty fond of your Scott."

Scott grinned wider, if that was possible, and went through the kids to introduce them to Clara, though when he got to Josh, he paused and looked to Mac. "Sorry, I… don't know…?"

"He came after," Mac said, but before he could get further, Josh sat up straighter and waved at both of them.

"I'm Josh," he said, clearly trying to be braver.

"Hey, Josh. I'm Scott — and this is Clara," Scott said with the grin still firmly affixed.

"Do you want to pet Ella?" Clara asked as she crouched down. "I know she looks kind of scary, but she's really very nice."

When Josh paused, Scott offered, "You don't have to, but if it makes you feel better, I promise, I won't let her lick you too hard."

He smiled slowly and nodded his head before he climbed up by Scott, and Clara tapped the side of the bed so Ella would put her front paws up on it and rest her head next to Scott's legs, her tail wagging slowly behind her. Scott pet her first to prove it was safe, scratching her behind the ears before Josh tentatively did the same — in exactly the same spot and very slowly.

When they were both done, Ella picked up her head, and Josh fell apart laughing, as it looked like the wolf was smiling.

"Hey, I think she likes you," Scott told him with a crooked grin.

"I'll leave you to catch up with your family," Clara said as she tapped the side of her leg, and Ella went right to her side. "I'm sure there's a lot to say."

"I'll find you when I'm done with… well… everything else," he said.

"I'm not going anywhere," she promised as she and Ella left the Hudsons and Scott behind to melt all over their newly minted, fully reunited family.

* * *

When Fury found Logan, he was on the roof of the building, glaring out into the trees and chewing on a stolen cigar.

"You know, you made quite the scene back in that hangar," Fury said, earning himself a glare from Logan as he pushed himself away from the edge and started pacing. "Didn't take you for the dramatic type. Guess I was wrong."

"Go to hell," Logan snarled back at him. "It ain't dramatic when we're talkin about a mistake of that massive proportion." He stopped and tossed his hands up. "I don't _get_ how you could have missed something that …"

"Just because I'm in everyone's business doesn't mean that I actually _know_ everything," Fury said. "I am fallible, just like everyone else."

"Just on a much grander scale when it goes south," Logan mumbled.

Fury let out a breath, but it was clear that at least Logan wasn't ready to tear his head off anymore. "True." He made his way closer and then took a seat with his back against one of the ventilation shafts that extended onto the roof. "Mad as you are, I'm going to need to know what happened — and I'd like it in non-kid terms. From _my pro_ that was in the field."

He was pouring up the whiskey as Logan watched him, thinking it all over. "I'm not tellin' you jack unless you change a few things around here."

"What do you propose?" Fury asked.

"Those kids are risking their lives for this; they need to be given the same perks as your soldiers if you expect them to be soldiers."

"Is that all?"

"No. But I'm still pissed off."

Fury handed him a glass and tipped his own back. "I'm sure you'll remember as you relax."

* * *

The last stop on Scott's tour of the Tahiti Wing — after going through every room, debriefing with Agent Phil Coulson, who seemed pretty nice, actually, setting an appointment with Charles Xavier that Skye said was a requirement, and grabbing a bite to eat — _finally_ , was a room of his own. A bed, dresser, mirror, nightstand, the whole nine yards. There were new clothes in the dresser, the door locked from the inside, and he had his own sink and shaving kit, toothbrush… It was all laid out for him.

He changed out of the clothes the hospital had given him and made a round, just looking through everything. This… was going to take some getting used to, actually. He hadn't had his own room since his parents died.

There was a commotion in the hall that drew the attention of half of the boys in their side of the dorms — laughter that was echoing the hall — and when Scott poked his head out, he just stared as he watched Director Fury half supporting Logan. The two of them were walking crookedly and chuckling amongst themselves. It was obvious that they were leaning on each other pretty solidly, and both of them looked to be more than just a bit tipsy.

Logan's arm was around Fury's shoulder, and they were grinning, and just … that could not be normal.

"Well, you _almost_ brought him back to me in the same shape I left him," Skye said as she came down the hall at a quick pace from where the girls' rooms were.

"If you don't want him, we'll just go back to what we were doing," Fury said, trying to look serious.

Skye gave him a look. "No, he's mine. You've had him long enough," she said, shooting Logan a teasing grin as she took hold of his arm and very clearly kissed his cheek.

Logan grinned at her and kissed her back as Fury gave them a halfhearted wave and turned back around to leave. "Good luck," he called to her as she helped him to his room and waved good night to Scott, with Logan chuckling the whole way and stealing kisses as the door closed behind him.

* * *

 _May 12_

 _Tahiti training room_

* * *

It had taken some time to get everyone settled into the new base, but with the most recent intel showing that the Capitol was getting more serious about using Sentinels as walking bombs, the kids needed to be educated on what to watch for — and how to disable them when needed.

Most of the kids in Tahiti hadn't met Mac, and they all looked at him warily, murmuring amongst themselves when Coulson and a fully armored Sentinel stepped out, complete with weaponry and looking entirely serious. A few of them instinctively flinched from years of avoiding Sentinels at all costs, but they all waited to see what exactly was going to come from this kind of training.

Mac stopped in front of them, with only a few yards between himself and the assembled crowd — it was the usual distance that Sentinels tried to keep between themselves and a group. He looked up and down the line critically, though none of them could see anything but his nose and mouth and the scruff on his chin. He kept the stern look, waiting for them to quiet down, and when they finally did, Coulson was the one to speak.

"This is James Hudson," Coulson started out as Mac kept an evenly serious expression and openly watched each and every one of the Tahiti kids and victors gathered that were planning to fight — and a couple that weren't. "He was a Sentinel not too long ago, and when he came here with us, he was kind enough to bring their newest issued armor specifically so you all could learn how to counter any attacks or surprises that it carries with it."

Coulson gave them another once over before he laid it out. "I know some of you have issues with Sentinels," he said, his gaze lingering on America, "But it's incredibly rare to have one defect to our side — and even moreso to get one that managed to pull their armor and show us how it works, so … if it's not too much trouble, don't break the Sentinel."

Mac gave him a little smirk and then looked up and down the line again before he finally let his shoulders relax and removed the helmet.

"Who here has assaulted a Sentinel in their home district?" Mac asked as his dark brown eyes gazed out among the group, though none of them seemed ready to fess up yet. "Come on, guys. It's going to be hard to teach you if you won't at least tell me who's not afraid."

Still, no one stepped forward and Mac just had to smile at them. "Guys. I'm not going to be mad. I want you to do it again. I promise, I can take it." He tipped his chin up at Scott. "Come on, Scott. Let's show 'em how it's done."

Scott looked entirely surprised by being called up — not just because he was still new to the Tahiti group but because, well, it was _Mac_. But he tried for a quick recovery and nodded. "Right, sure," he said as he headed up and took up a fighting stance.

"Now, I _know_ you've never fought a Sentinel," Mac said. "But do whatever you think will work."

Scott's first blow was deflected, and Mac immediately started coaching out loud not only to Scott but the group as a whole. "You can't do any damage if you go for the stomach or groin," Mac said loudly. "Joints are reinforced on the outer side, vulnerable at the insides of the elbows and back of the knees." Scott took the cue and shoved his hand in Mac's face before slipping behind him and kicking out one of his knees.

"Good," Mac sounded pleased even as he hit the ground, and Scott paused, not willing to go into dirty tricks. "Smart move would be to use the rifle sling." Mac encouraged him just before he grabbed the rifle and rolled onto his back, the gun aimed Scott's direction, but his hand nowhere near the trigger.

"If you can get a Sentinel down, go for the throat or disarm. In any case, keep them from reaching under the armor of the left forearm."

"What's under the armor?" Betsy asked with her arms crossed over her chest and a sort of "fight me" look that she hadn't lost ever since they'd gotten back and Remy had disappeared.

"A panic button. It will immediately alert every Sentinel within two miles where the trouble is." He got to his feet and slung the rifle again before waving Scott closer. "Best bet is to disarm and remove that section of armor." He turned his body so the group as a whole could see his extended arm as he told Scott where to grab the armor — and how to remove it. He repeated the process three more times before he had Scott turn the armor over in his hands to inspect it closer.

"Removing it is only step one. You have to disarm it too. Yellow button is disarm. Red is the panic. Blue … blue is new." He gave them a grim little smile. "And they don't want to let anyone know about that one if they can help it."

"How bad is it?" Steve asked, his arms crossed as he watched Mac drop his arm around Scott's shoulder and pull off his helmet one handed.

"None of the Sentinels I knew are thrilled about this change in particular," Mac confided as he handed Scott the helmet. "It has a lot of guys nervous as to what's expected of them." He let out a sigh and pulled off the chest piece to turn around and show the group. "They're rigged to blow. The idea was that if a guy was in trouble — it's better to go out with a bang than to be captured."

"This is good news in a twisted kind of way," Coluson interjected from where he'd been leaning on the wall. "It means we're getting close if they're willing to blow themselves up rather than be captured. No way we could get intel out of them if they're dead."

"Well, it's not that we're willing to blow up, it's that they're willing to sacrifice their Sentinels to get the job done. Not that all of them are taking it that way. The way they sold it to everyone was to say it'd take out the other side as a last resort," Mac added before turning to the group again. "No one I know wants to use the blue button. But … if you were a Sentinel in trouble, and you managed to get the arm piece off … and say … toss it to your partner before the rebels descended on you … it could be ugly." Mac let out a sigh. "You need to know how to spot the trouble — and if you have a Sentinel coming toward you now .. you have to deal with the armor." Mac glanced up and down the room again. "And .. you can get _them_ from a distance if you know where to shoot. Same button — just from the outside. If you guys want … we can practice that … but I want to be sure you can all take it off first."

"Wait," Kurt said, holding his hands in front of him. "That thing is armed? Now?"

"No," Mac said, shaking his head. "We disarmed it when we left Seven. Didn't want any tracking options to work — or for the thing to go off accidentally." He paused and looked to Coulson for a moment. "Frankly, I'd be surprised if the Head Sentinel didn't have the option to blow up who he needed to even without them panicking."

Coulson nodded thoughtfully as Mac clapped Scott on the shoulder and put the armor back on. "Alright. Who's next?" he called out.

Mac had on a tight, nervous smile as Steve stepped out from the line — every bit as tall and a bit broader than Mac himself. But, as he'd said, he was true to his word and gently coached him through the takedown and removal — giving different tips for Steve's approach and trickling out little bits of insider info on how the Sentinels were trained to think and how to use it against them.

When Steve was done, Steve actually gave him a patient smile and shook his hand, which took Mac off guard more than anything else so far. But he didn't have time to think about it as the next former tribute stepped up, and it started all over. One after another, it seemed to be a silent study, except for Mac's clear instructions.

It was clear after a while that Mac was getting worn down as he rolled his shoulders and shook his arms out between kids or victors. Some of the hits he was taking was serious — it was clear that some of these guys held a grudge against the armor and seemed to have momentarily forgotten that the man inside it was on their side — and had been since they'd met.

When it was all said and done and the kids had all shown that they were pretty proficient in taking down the Sentinel, Logan waited until the group had mostly cleared out before he made his way over to where Scott was helping Mac with the armor and gave Mac a shoulder to lean on while he limped out to the locker room.

"You know you don't have to keep taking the hits," Logan told him quietly.

"Yeah. But I kinda do," Mac replied, hissing a little when he put weight on the ankle that America had swept out from under him. "No one else here has had the same training — don't know how to react the way a Sentinel would."

"Just don't get yourself too banged up," Logan said. "Can't fight the bad guys if you're out from the good guys puttin' a beat down to you." He paused. "And you're supposed to be the responsible one. Leave getting the crap beat out of you to me, wouldja?"

"Though the point was for nobody to get beat down," Scott said dryly.

"Exceptions to every rule," both of them said at once.

Scott stopped, staring at both of them over the armor he was carrying, and shook his head. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" Mac asked with a smile. "We've been doing that for years."

"You really spend that much time together?" Scott asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, we tried to," Mac said, and Logan kept his gaze to the ground as Mac leaned on him a little heavier. "Most Sentinels don't have any family when they get to their assigned district."

Scott stopped altogether, looking between Mac and Logan. "Really?" he finally managed to ask.

"Cousins," Logan replied. "Mom's side."

Scott stared at both of them. "I… didn't know that," he finally offered, clearly trying to wrap his head around it. "I guess… I can see it…"

"No one knew it," Mac said. "If they'd found out, I'd have been shipped off."

"Well," Scott said, "that would have been bad." He couldn't seem to come up with much else, just… blinking at them.

"Come on," Mac said, putting his arm around Scott's shoulders on his other side. "We can talk about that later. Why don't you help me wrap this ankle?"

"Yeah, sure thing," Scott said with a nod. "Before Heather sees it."

"I'll distract her," Logan offered. "She's been wanting to corner someone. Might as well be me."

"Good luck," Mac said with a smirk his way.


	49. Royal Intrigue

**Chapter 49: Royal Intrigue**

* * *

In the Capitol

* * *

Natalie Rushman looked up from her desk when Ronan came stomping out of his father's office. The meeting had clearly not gone well, and when he looked up and saw her, he looked like he'd just decided she was the perfect target for some of his annoyance.

She didn't know everything, not as cut off from SHIELD as she was while she was undercover, but she did know that Ronan had some kind of… understanding with Hydra. He had been looking forward to reaping the benefits of that and collecting a few Tahiti tributes last night — and it had fallen through his fingers. Failed spectacularly. Thanos was grumbling about it, but Ronan had taken it personally, clearly.

She allowed her eyes to widen the slightest bit and pushed her chair slightly back as he stalked over, and she stammered over her words as she said, "I-Is there something I can do for you today, sir?"

He continued to advance on her, and she flinched away, but he stopped at her desk, no longer stomping but seeming to take her in, as if he was enjoying her terror — her distance and fear had apparently lifted his mood. Slowly, he started to lean forward over the edge of the desk.

"Not unless you're volunteering to take their place," he said smoothly.

She swallowed hard and looked down, pretending to avoid his gaze. "I'm sure whoever it is you're after won't evade you long, sir," she said quietly. "I don't think it's possible to deny you."

She knew she'd struck a nerve when, in a glance, she saw that his smile had slipped slightly. "You know nothing, you insignificant ant," he said under his breath, and she just went back to quickly nodding and looking down at her hands and acting as though she were trying her level best to avoid looking at him.

When he continued to stand there, she finally brought her gaze up nearly to his and said, softly, "If there's anything I can do, sir. Anything at all."

He seemed to smile again before he simply left her there, and she was sure to breathe out a slight sigh of relief when he was still just at the edges of earshot. It wasn't hard to act scared of him, but when he was in that kind of mood, what was hard was stopping herself from killing him.

* * *

May 17

Tahiti

* * *

Wade had been training with Weapon X more or less since the Tahiti kids had been returned from the impromptu stay with Essex. He had to be doing well too, since every time he got done with training for the day, he was positively grinning and absolutely refused to say a word about what they were doing. Outside of the tiny detail that he'd let slip — the one that said that Logan was the one to pick him to join the team.

And Kurt was irritated over it.

It wasn't just the hidden secret sessions. Or the advanced training. Or the special treatment. Or … maybe it was some of that, but that wasn't really the problem. The real issue was that he had thought that Logan would be backing off of Weapon X now that he was with the Tahiti Wing. He had thought that they'd be putting Team Awesome back together for more than photo ops and television interviews. But instead … Kurt found himself trying not to get angry with Wade for his obvious joy at being with the Weapon X team.

"Don't mind him," Cassie said as they sat down nearby. She'd have found another spot, but the rest were taken up by very involved couples, and Wade was too giddy to do much besides grin. "He's always like this when he comes in from a mission."

Kurt straightened up a bit and frowned at Wade. "Didn't you come in from one just yesterday?"

"Yeah. But we did one last last night too! This is the best team. We have the best missions!" Wade was practically dancing in place as he tried hard NOT to spill anything that might get him in trouble with the team. Or Fury. That was the big one, really. Wade knew that if he ticked off Fury, there was no chance he'd stay on the team. Logan's pick or not — he had to keep the eyepatch happy.

"Where were you?" Kurt asked, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"I can't say." Wade paused, then turned slowly to Kurt. "And if I could, I wouldn't. Because you're not on the team. So it would be irresponsible for me to do that. And … well... I gotta have that much, anyhow."

Kurt kept his eyes narrowed as he studied the young man in front of him. "I guess I just don't understand. How did you end up on that team? You didn't know any of them before."

"Oh! Logan picked me," Wade replied brightly.

Kurt leaned back in his seat, clearly surprised by that response as his lips parted the slightest bit and he took in a deep breath. "He … doesn't even know you, Wade," he said as evenly as he could.

"He does now," Wade said with a laugh. "We spent a day or so training … did the Danger Room … had a great time... and then he asked me to cover his back." He smiled Kurt's way, totally oblivious to Kurt's position in that moment. "I get to be his slack man!"

Kurt took in as calming a breath as he was able before he pushed back from the table and stood up. "Excuse me," he said before he all but stalked out the door for Logan's room, knowing that's where he would be if he had returned from a mission. He didn't knock and instead pushed the door open with enough force that it bounced against the wall. "So," he said, his arms crossed, "you don't trust me to have your back — is that it?"

Logan had picked his head up at the sound of the door banging on the wall and watched as Kurt fumed. "What the hell gave you that idea?" he asked in a grumble before he leaned back onto his pillow, watching Kurt with a frown.

"You knew Wade for all of a day before you asked him onto your team to watch your back. A day, Logan." Kurt glared his way, looking halfway betrayed.

"Elf," Logan started to say, sitting up because it was clear this wasn't going to be too quick. "The only guy that gets shot at on that team more than me is Wade," he explained.

Kurt kept up his glare. "You don't have to protect me from everything, Logan."

"I'm not ...that's not it. He's got the right nut-job mindset for that position on the team," Logan tried to say. "And it has to be a big damn guy. If it was just a matter of trust, I wouldn't have even looked at anyone but you. Come on. You know that."

Kurt frowned for a moment longer before he had to let his shoulders drop. "Still," he said, without the same heat as before. "I was hoping now that you were in Tahiti ... I wanted to see more of you than photo ops, mein Freund."

"I'm not the one that makes the schedules, Elf," Logan replied.

"No, but apparently you have enough sway to pick your team," Kurt pointed out.

Logan shrugged lightly. "A little."

"And you still stay on that team — without any of us." Kurt let out a sigh.

"That ain't entirely true," he said, leaning against the wall. "You guys know Wraith and Mav."

Kurt gave his friend a very dry look. "Knowing them is one thing. But just because we know your teammates… Logan, honestly. This is not the team reunion we've been hoping for."

"You an' me both," he admitted. "But what can I do about it?"

"You have sway with the director," Kurt pointed out. "And I'd like to see my best friend once in a blue moon. Let me come out with you if you insist on staying with that group."

Logan thought it over for a while and let out a deep breath. "Tell you what. Wraith was pushing for someone to give him a break. You can come train with us and see if you even want to do these kinds of missions. You can keep it to yourself, right?"

Kurt looked surprised for only a moment before he smirked. "After a year of not telling you I was alive, I think I've mastered keeping secrets," he pointed out.

"Alright then," Logan said before he moved to lay down again. "The only ones outside of the team that know who everyone is on the team other than a few higher ups is you, Kate, and Pete anyhow. Just keep it quiet. Training's at 5:30. You can run with Wraith to start."

* * *

May 18

Hydra Base

* * *

Bobbi let out a sigh when she saw the SHIELD emblem cut across the screens in the Hydra complex. Not that she wasn't glad to see that SHIELD had been taking full advantage of the fact that they'd figured out a way to get around the Capitol's blackout device — their timing was just awful, because she was on her way to see Viper, and Viper was always in a worse mood after a TV spot.

Which… was really saying something, since a healing Viper was somehow crankier and more liable to kill an underling than before.

The TV spot this time around was blatantly anti-Hydra, too, a direct contradiction of the one they had put out earlier with Silver Fox and Rumlow. Scott was straightforward and honest about the whole thing as Trish interviewed him about the year he'd spent under Hydra and Essex's control. And the frustrating thing for Hydra was that he was so genuine there was simply no way they could say he was lying and come across as anything like credible. Once again, SHIELD had positioned itself as the good guys, and it didn't help that this latest spot tied Hydra to the Capitol with the mention of Essex working with Ronan to deliver some of the Tahiti kids. It was all around a PR disaster for the whole of Hydra.

Not that they couldn't recruit in other ways, but it was much easier to fight a war without having to resort to that.

So when Bobbi reached Viper's room with a tray of food and some tea, she was not surprised to find that her old mentor was glaring at the screen as the TV spot finished up.

"This is what happens when we ally with people who aren't dedicated to Hydra itself," Bobbi said as she flipped off the screen. "Essex … he was a genius, but no one knew about half his experiments. I can tell you for a fact Fury himself thought that kid was dead — who knows what he was hiding from us."

Viper glared at her for a moment, her fingers tapping on the arm of her chair slowly. "We always knew that Essex was a loose cannon," Viper said through her teeth. "It's a shame that he seems to have disappeared for the time being."

"We couldn't find a thing in that rubble. But I'm sure he'll turn up. He was obsessed with the Tahiti program; I doubt he'll stay away," Bobbi said. "And then I'm sure we can come up with some… retribution fitting for how badly he let that entire mission fall apart."

"And that redhead," Viper said. "I want her taken out."

"After I'm done with her — you can come at the end," Bobbi promised smoothly, knowing full well Natasha was not anywhere to be found at SHIELD.

"I never expected her to be turned against us," Viper pouted. "Or to ally …" She let out a frustrated little noise and winced at her very tender stomach.

"Well, which do you want — do you want to turn her our way again or finish her off? Either way, I'll get to play, I'm sure."

"We can't trust that she can be turned back. Brainwashing is only truly good if you go deeper, not reverse it," Viper said. "Kill her."

Bobbi nodded as she sat down and poured them both tea. "Made it myself," she said automatically as she handed it to Viper. She smirked. "If I was going to kill you, I wouldn't do it with tea."

Viper gave her a little smile as she took her cup. "Good girl."

* * *

May 21

Tahiti Wing

* * *

Kate hadn't seen Kurt all day.

Not that there weren't days that they didn't see each other with missions and stuff like that — but they were just supposed to be training today. No TV spots with Skye, no missions, nothing like that. So the fact that she didn't see her favorite Elf come dinnertime was more than a little disappointing.

He wasn't in any of the living areas or the rec rooms either, so Kate simply decided to take it upon herself to take over his bed, steal all his favorite books in a pile on his dresser, and wait Sooner or later, he would show up, and then she'd get her snuggles and answers.

When he did finally come in, he was moving slowly, obviously sore, and seemed to have eyes only for the bed. She watched him with one eyebrow quirked up. "What did you do?" she asked, shaking her head at him as she couldn't help but take pity on him and scoot over.

"It was training," he said quietly as he slowly managed to get prone. "Or hazing. I'm not entirely sure which."

She watched him for a moment and carefully laid out beside him. "Alright. Who hazed you — and how hard should I hit them for it?" she asked at last.

"No, no," he said, shaking his head. "I said I don't know if it was hazing. I think if it was, it would be worse."

"That… is not very comforting," Kate pointed out with a little frown as she leaned over very, very gently to kiss his cheek. "You look like you've been run through the wringer."

"I have been," he replied before he turned to kiss her back. "Advanced extraction training."

She frowned and nuzzled into his side very carefully. "So ... how much of this are you supposed to do? Because I think they broke my Elf. Have you even been down to dinner yet?"

"I came straight here," he replied. "They said that was their daily training regimen."

She sat up a little taller, frowned, and kissed him again. "Okay, well, first of all, that's just unacceptable. I'm going to go get some food or something. And second of all… they want you to do that again?"

"Yes," he replied. "Apparently, I did well." He gave her a weak smile, then dropped his head down onto the pillow. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing much," she said. "Just the fact that we're supposed to go on a mission tomorrow. Which... " She looked him over. "I'm vetoing for you, sweetheart. I like my Elf in one piece."

"No," he said trying to sit up quickly but not managing half his usual speed. "I can do it."

She didn't answer except to raise one eyebrow at him and very gently and pointedly put a hand on his chest that pushed him back down into the pillows without much effort. "Uh-huh."

"I can," he insisted. "Where is the mission headed? And who's on the team?"

"Well if you weren't dying, it would be just you, me, and the glittering sights of One for a quick little sniper mission."

"One?" he asked, eyebrows raised, before he sank back down again. "Alright, perhaps I'm not up for One."

"That's what I thought," she said as she let out all her breath. "Which is really too bad, because Coulson was nice enough to give us a whole day to get it done." She started to kiss the line of his jaw just to prove her point. "A whole day, Kurt."

"Torture," he croaked out. "Why do you torture me so?"

She smirked. "Because you go and get yourself banged up and take away a whole day trip to One, you goon. You bring this on yourself," she teased, still peppering him with little kisses.

"Can the mission wait a day or two?" he asked hopefully.

She sighed dramatically and shook her head. "No can do. Some Hydra guy, always moving around. He'll probably be gone tomorrow, so we're supposed to hit him in the morning. Well. I'm supposed to," she corrected herself.

"But if it's just back up …"

"Tell you what," Kate said, grinning at him. "If you can get up and move around tomorrow and swing both of your swords for ten minutes? I'll un-veto your backup."

"How early in the morning are we talking?" He sounded apprehensive at the answer.

"Pretty early," she admitted. "We have to fly out to One, so we'll want to leave before dawn."

He groaned as he closed his eyes. "Alright. I'll need to eat something before my muscles freeze into place." He started to sit up, wincing at almost every little movement.

She tipped her head his way and then just laughed. "I'll get it. You just… try not to die. Read a book. Do some stretches." She kissed his cheek as she climbed out of the bed. "I'll be back. Don't be a corpse when I return."

"You're hilarious, Kate," he said dryly as he started to slowly stretch, knowing that was likely his best option, even if he wanted to just pass out.

She stuck her tongue out at him and slipped down to the cafeteria to load up a tray for him, though she had to make a face at Logan and Wade when she saw that they were both just fine.

Wade of course made a face right back and bounced over to whisper over her shoulder. "Whatcha-doin?"

"Fixing up my Elf," she whispered right back in a tone only he could hear. "You broke him."

"You know, I am told he did pretty darned well today," Wade said. "First time out and all that with the crew. Training."

"He was supposed to go out with me tomorrow. Not a date-date. A mission. But still."

"Oooooh, do you need an alternate?" Wade asked hopefully.

"I might," she admitted. "We'll just have to see how he feels in the morning," she added as she grabbed up a few extra water bottles for Kurt and balanced them on the tray. "But I'm hoping he feels better by morning. It's a full-day mission."

Wade nodded thoughtfully through the whole explanation, then handed Kate an extra cookie. "He probably needs this more than I do," he said as he patted his stomach. "Gotta watch my girlish figure."

She shook her head at him and couldn't help but chuckle. "Right. The rate you train, you could probably eat the whole jar and be fine."

"Well that is the whole point of being on this team … so I can eat whatever I want," he said with a little pop of his hip before he headed off toward Cassie again.

She shook her head after him and then shouldered her way out the door again to bring Kurt the tray — and snuggle in with him for the night since, well, they were getting up early anyway. It wasn't like they were going to do anything with Kurt being as sore as he was, so Coulson could hang his overnight rules.

* * *

The next morning, when Kate's alarm went off, she was definitely not awake, but when she turned to look at Kurt, she saw that he was definitely less awake than she was. Like. not even close to it.

She tried shaking his arm a few times, but he was simply dead to the world, and after trying everything from kisses to poking, she had to admit that it just wasn't a good tactical idea to bring Kurt along. He couldn't watch her six with how exhausted he was, and she did actually need someone to do that. One was still very much Capitol-controlled, after all.

She let out a sigh, kissed Kurt's cheek, and climbed around him, zipping off to her room to change and head down to the briefing room to let Coulson know that her partner just… wasn't going to happen. Which he wasn't too pleased to hear. Kate was pretty sure he'd fudged the mission estimates in order to get them a full day out together.

Coulson had barely gotten started with Kate when he saw Logan headed past — early enough that he had to be going to training, and he cut Kate off mid-sentence to dart around his desk for the door and shout down the hall. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" he called out, getting Logan to turn and face him — though from the look on his face, it was clear that he thought Coulson had lost his mind. "You didn't have the clearance to take Kurt onto that team of yours," Coulson said with some heat to his voice, though he kept his tone low.

"Sure I did," Logan replied with a little smirk. "Besides, he was just trying it out. See if he even wanted to give it a shot."

Coulson pointed at his office, and Logan gave him a look before he let out a sigh and redirected. He gave Kate a little frown before he dropped into the seat next to her. Coulson closed the door behind him and went around to sit at his desk. "Am I off base in assuming that you only have training on your docket today?" he asked, his gaze fixed on Logan.

"Far as I know," Logan replied, his eyebrows drawn together. "Why—"

"You overworked one of my operatives and recruited him into your team without clearing it by me," Coulson shot back. "So I figure that if you can work him over that hard, then you can pick up his slack until he's back to form." Coulson paused. "They aren't up to your regimen, Logan. You can't just … push them until they break."

"Woah, easy," Logan held up both hands. "I wasn't trying to break him," he promised. "He looked good at training. And I'm not recruiting him … not yet. Just letting him see if he wants to mess with all the crap we go through for that team." He shrugged lightly. "Wraith wanted an alternate anyhow. Can't think of anyone I'd trust more."

"Be that as it may," Coulson said, losing some of the heat. "I'm short an operative, and you have nothing more pressing than training today, so you'll be joining Miss Bishop as her backup."

Logan glanced over at Kate, who was trying not to smirk too broadly. "Great. What are we doing?"

"Long distance assassination in One," Coulson said as he pushed a folder across his desk for Logan to look over. "You'll be providing her backup today."

Kate grinned obnoxiously Logan's way. "Which means I'm in charge, big guy," she teased.

"Sure," Logan replied with a little smirk. "Go for it."

Kate handed her file back to Coulson. "When you're ready, oh backup of mine," she teased as she got up to leave.

"Waitin' on you, fearless."

She smirked his way and led the way out, tickled at this turn of events all the way up through getting on the jet, where she gave May a jaunty little wave. "My backup took a step down in cuteness, but a step up in stabbiness," she explained, still grinning.

"Says you," Logan muttered as he dropped into the nearest seat.

May smirked his way. "Which part — the 'cute' or the 'stabby'?"

"Both," he replied.

She tipped her head his way as if she was considering it before she turned back to the jet controls. "It's debatable."

"Just because you still owe me a bottle of scotch doesn't mean it's debatable," he called back.

She smirked. "Oh, if I was adjusting for the scotch, I would have agreed with you on the cute thing just to see what Skye said when you told her."

"Why would I tell her you were flying under the influence?" He wrinkled his nose her way. "I'm not going to do that to you."

She smirked even wider at that and shook her head at him.

Kate settled into the seat beside Logan and bumped his shoulder with hers. "Is there anyone on base that doesn't owe you money or booze?" she teased.

"Not likely," he laughed her way. "Maybe Petey's aunt."

She laughed outright at that. "There you go. That's one," she said as she kicked back with her thermos full of coffee.

"Just relax; I've got your back this time, Trickshot," Logan chuckled.

She grinned at him and leaned even further back. "I'm not worried. Just wish my backup was. You know. More Elf-ish," she teased.

"Yeah, about that — if it's too much, he's gotta say somethin'," Logan pointed out. "Unless he's not interested."

Kate shook her head. "I'm not sure he's decided yet." She leaned back and took a little sip of coffee. "He thought you might possibly be hazing him," she admitted.

"Not really," he said with a little sigh. "Tried to just give him a regular run. Shoulda known it might have been a little heavier than he was used to."

"Yeah, I've heard Fury and Hill get onto Coulson for babying us," Kate said with a little smirk.

"They get mad more about the kinds of missions he lets you run — not so much the training angle," Logan clarified. "We're kind of his nuclear option anyway."

"Well, he's happy to go out on missions with you. He missed you," Kate admitted.

"So you're saying he's going to be jealous on two fronts when you come back tonight all … triumphant and fresh off a mission?"

She laughed. "Yeah. He'll be jealous for so, so many reasons."

"Yeah. Sure. Mostly that he didn't get to go make kissy faces."

"Which we are not doing," Kate teased.

"In your dreams, woman."

She laughed. "Hey, I know the rumors," she said, unable to resist poking him.

"Don't look at me, I didn't start 'em. It was probably May. She's mean-spirited like that."

"I am," May said without hesitation, and Logan gestured to the cockpit as if that was explanation enough.

Kate chuckled. "Well now I know who to get mad at." She readjusted the way she was sitting so she could run her hands over her bow — every archer had pre-mission routines, and that was hers. She fell silent for a while and then tipped her head Logan's way. "You know… Coulson's rules only apply if you're under eighteen," she said.

"What rules are those?" Logan asked with a little frown.

"He doesn't want anyone getting… well. You know. No funny stuff. Sleepovers. Stuff like that." She shrugged.

"Yeah … I didn't even know that was a thing," he replied. "Would have ignored it if I knew."

She smirked his way. "Well. You and Skye are older," she pointed out. "I'm just saying, though, Kurt is the best space heater, no matter what Skye says. And I'm missing out." She made a face at him. "That part I can blame you for."

"Well, feel free to lay it on," he said with a shrug. "Won't be the first time I got blamed. For … whatever."

"I only blame you for things that are your fault," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"He could have said no," Logan pointed out.

She snorted out loud. "To a team with you on it? Watching your back? To learning what it is you're up to first hand?" She shook her head. "Not a chance. I'd volunteer too if I thought I had half a shot."

"He doesn't need to join up for that," Logan said quietly as he leaned her way. "Pretty sure he could bribe Skye to pull up a mission or two. We wear body cams."

She grinned crookedly at him. "I do love that you're dating the professional sneaky sneak."

"She's sneaky as hell on that computer, but she can't sneak worth a damn in real life."

"Oh really? I would never have guessed from the crashing sound she makes when she walks in a room," Kate teased.

"I'm not talking about standard walking around. I mean when she tries … really tries to be sneaky. It's awful. Better'n Barton…"

"Clint tries," Kate said, feeling like she had to stand up for her fellow Hawkeye.

"So does Skye," he replied. "Neither one of 'em are as quick a study as you were."

She grinned delightedly at the compliment. "Well, I am the better Hawkeye," she giggled.

A short time later, with Kate still grinning widely, May dropped them off in One, and with that, the two of them slipped into mission mode — though not quite the same way that Logan was used to. She kept shooting him little smart aleck comments over the comms the whole time, though he never responded. It was more of a way to blow off some boredom than anything else, and once she was set up with her rifle, she was quiet too, just waiting.

The whole thing went off without a hitch, and if Kate said so herself, it was a beautiful shot. As they headed back to the secondary checkpoint, she even had to tease Logan. "Didn't even need you, tough guy."

"Never accused you of anything that low," he replied finally.

She had to chuckle to herself at that as she shouldered the rifle and slipped into the shadows, still grinning to herself — though not quite as widely as she would have done if this was a mission with Kurt. Something this straightforward meant the day was more than clear. She had been robbed.

They had only just met up again — or at least, Kate knew she was a couple rooftops over from him — when she spotted something new, though, and any hopes for this being a simple mission went out the window as she recognized the yellow helmets that meant the president's personal guard. Nova Corps.

"Watch yourself, Hawkeye," Logan said low. "They haven't seen you yet, and if they do … get ready to run."

"Don't gotta tell me twice," she agreed, already pressing herself lower to the rooftop… though she couldn't help but be curious as she peeked over the edge. There were a lot of yellow uniforms.

"Yeah, stay quiet and out of sight," he replied as he inched his way over to a new vantage point. "Give you three guesses as to why."

"Funny, funny," she said with a smirk. "There's only three of 'em left to choose from."

"I'll be damned, shouldn't be too hard to figure then," he replied easily.

She had to cover her mouth to stifle a little laugh, shaking her head at him, as she settled in and kept low, trying to spot if it was green, blue, or purple behind the wall of yellow.

"Oh, great," he said quietly after he'd finally gotten a peek of green. "Princess, twelve o' clock from your position."

Kate glanced that way, frowned, and reached around for her bow. "I bet…"

"Don't even think about it," he said, cutting her short. "Not when they're this close and us with no ride until later. If May was hovering nearby, I'd say go for it."

Kate let out a very disappointed breath. "Well, let's… let's at least watch. If she's still around when our ride gets here…"

"I'm headed your way; just stay low," he told her. "With a little luck, she'll be gone in a couple minutes."

"You can't tell me not to take a shot if she's just gonna disappear into the wind. Come on." She could just see the shot, too. Her fingers were itching. Badly.

"Honey, we've had to pass on her at least three times," he told her. "I didn't sign up for a suicide mission today, did you?"

She let out a very long sigh. "Stop making sense. I wanna shoot a princess."

"And you'll get your chance," he said with a hint of amusement to his voice. "Just not right now. You don't have the right armor on for that detail."

She didn't bother to hide her disappointment, even though she knew he was right. On all counts. The last time she'd shot a princess, there had been serious armor, a gazillion people for backup… this was her, Logan, and what should have been a basic in-and-out-and-date-with-Kurt.

Kate packed up, still staying low, but it was enough of a movement to draw the attention of the Nova Corp, who were watching the rooftops for exactly her kind of trouble. A Nova Corp sniper on another roof opened fire on Kate's position, and like Logan had said, her armor simply wasn't up to it. At all.

"Get cover, Hawkeye," Logan growled out as he took off running her way. He totally threw the idea of hiding out the window when he realized that Kate had been fired on. If they shot her, they'd be going in to confirm the kill or capture her for questioning later. No way was either of those things happening on his watch

Logan hit the little button at his belt that tipped off whoever was working back at base that there was trouble on the mission and blacked out their comms as the Nova Corps began to fire on him, but his armor was much heavier than Kate's, and it didn't do much to slow him down.

He was firing back — mostly to the men on the ground that were starting to scale buildings on their way to get Kate, though he did manage to take out the closer sniper. The second one was smart enough to duck out and keep out of sight. But … when he jumped the narrow break between buildings to the one Kate was on, he found he wasn't the first one to the scene of the shooting.

Two of the Nova Corps guards had already taken Kate's weapons. She'd been trying to fight back, as evidenced by the broken nose on one and the bleeding bite wound on another. She'd been shot in the leg, but she was still trying to kick anyone that got too close with her good leg.

Logan dove into the fight quickly, rushing toward the guy that had gotten a hold of Kate's leg and was pulling her along. That turned out to be a very bad life decision for that guardsman, as Logan didn't even warn them before he eviscerated him on the spot and turned to do the same to anyone else that got too close. The one that had Kate's bow slung over his arm shot Logan dead center in the chest — but the standard issue sidearms that they had wouldn't touch the armor he wore, even if it hurt and bruised. The overall effect, though, didn't help morale at all since three rounds later, Logan was still coming at the guy with a roar.

The fights topside didn't last long, but both Logan and Kate knew there had to be more coming. They were out of time. "Alright. Time to go; I'm taking over lead," Logan told her as he knelt down next to her. "How bad is it?" He was already ripping off a strip from the bottom of his shirt to wrap it tighter than what they could do barehanded.

She looked a little pale as she shook her head. "I can't put any weight on it," she told him honestly, grabbing hold of his shoulder once he was close enough to try and pull herself up.

"Don't make it worse," he said. "Let's put some pressure on. I can tie off — got a few gauze pads in a pocket. It's a common problem." He tried to give her a little smile, to keep her calm.

She nodded and tried to give him a smile to match, though she still looked half scared to death. Nova Corps trying to drag her off hadn't done her confidence any favors, and she leaned halfway into him. "Of course it is," she muttered quietly.

He worked quickly to press the pads over the wound and tied the strip of fabric over that — just to keep it from bleeding worse — before he simply scooped her up. "When they start firing again, duck down. My vest can take it."

She nodded and halfway tucked into him, holding onto his shirt. "Not gonna lie. Kinda glad you came and not Kurt."

"Yeah, especially for as tired as he is," Logan agreed. He took a moment to make sure his grip wasn't going to go anywhere before he simply started rushing off. "I got a few good spots to hide if we can get out of their search radius."

She nodded against his shoulder. "Please," she muttered through her teeth. "I'm very tired of being shot at."

"We'll have to fix that," he said, though they didn't get two buildings over before the firing started again.

"I jinxed it," she muttered.

"No, I did," he argued. "But if you feel up to shooting back, I've got a full mag in the pistol."

She grinned at that and took the pistol when he handed it to her, to fire over his shoulder with an almost smug look. "Glad it was just the leg," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth as he got them both around the corner.

As soon as they were out of the Nova Corps' sight, Logan shifted the way he was holding her. "Sorry, but this will be quicker and they think they know how fast we're going," he said as he moved to more or less put her over his shoulder. "Try not to slip or shoot me in the ass, alright?"

"Just don't drop me, or I will do exactly that," she returned.

"I don't drop injured women," he pointed out before he broke out into a dead run. "I've got a spot picked out. Don't shoot unless they're ready to shoot back."

"There's a joke here about the whites of their eyes," Kate said, "but Pete's the history buff."

"There's really not," he argued. "More about giving away position. I know you can hit 'em."

Kate nodded at that and simply took a tighter grip on the pistol, trusting Logan to get them both out from there.

* * *

In the Capitol

* * *

Gamora's trip to One was supposed to be straight foward — shore up support in the districts, do a little flash, and show the closer districts that were still loyal to them that their leaders were with them. The whole thing would take fifteen minutes at the most, and then she'd go back to the Capitol.

Not a single person in the Capitol had expected real trouble. They had been meticulous about her travel plans. So the fact that Nova Corps was reporting that they'd fired on a sniper just a block away from Gamora herself had the palace in full paranoid mode.

There was only one explanation for it — someone must have leaked the information.

There was no threat to Gamora herself — the Nova Corps with her were already reporting that they'd gotten her to a transport safely and were heading back. But that didn't make the intelligence breach any less worrying for the presidential palace. The movements of the royal family had been breached.

Already, Gamora's personal secretary was gone. Natalie hadn't even seen it happen. She was lucky it hadn't been Thanos or even, frankly, Ronan, who 'borrowed' Thanos' staff more often than not as well, or she would likely have disappeared as well. As it was, she had Nova Corp pouring through her desk for any sign of spyware. They wouldn't find anything, of course. Hank Pym's bugs were programmed to scatter at a signal from her. But still, it was disquieting — the whole mood of the palace on edge.

A couple of Ronan's lieutenants were nearby, not participating in the rifling but watching the screens. The cameras that were supposed to show off the solidarity had instead picked up the SHIELD operatives who had breached their security, and one of them had already scurried off to get his boss to tell him that Wolverine as well as his little Tahiti girl had shown up in District One.

If anything, it had actually picked up the mood in the palace, since Kate had been shot and Logan was running into the fire. They were confident they'd have two high-profile kills or captures any moment now — until the footage blacked out entirely.

And then it was a whole other story.

Anyone who wasn't part of Ronan's personal guard or Thanos' hand-picked elite soldiers was all but dragged away from the room. The whole palace was on high alert, paranoia from the top in full swing as they practically stripped the place down looking for what had to be a leak.

By the time Natalie was finally allowed back at her desk, the cameras were back on, but Logan and Kate were long gone, and Ronan was still in Thanos' office fuming about how they'd let Wolverine slip through their fingers again.

Even after the shouting died down and Ronan stalked out of Thanos' office, he stayed there fuming until one of his lieutenants arrived, and the two shared a quick word that only seemed to incense him more.

"You," he barked toward Natalie. "Find Silver Fox. Now."

She half-stumbled back into her seat, her eyes wide as she shot him a very fast "yessir" and immediately set out to try all of the contacts she had for Fox.

As she worked, he paced the room, clenching and unclenching his hands as if he was miming wringing her neck himself. But when she couldn't pull up an immediate connection — 'there's no answer sir,' — he stalked over to her desk and reached across her, looking over her shoulder, double checking the contacts himself. "Keep trying them," he all but hissed in her ear and rested his hand on her shoulder.

Natalie didn't have to pretend much when she jumped at the command and all but flinched at the touch. She took an obvious deep breath and nodded. "Yes, sir. Of course, sir," she said very quickly, allowing her voice to get a bit higher and more nervous — again, not a difficult task when a renowned torturer had his hand on her shoulder.

He stood there, watching her frantically work on following his commands until finally the former tribute picked up on the other end, and Natalie handed off the comm gladly so that Ronan took a step away from her to yell at the woman on the other end. Apparently, Gamora's secretary had been a plant, just for Hydra, not SHIELD, and he was not happy about the fact that Fox had apparently snuck the woman into the palace.

That was interesting, and Natalie filed that information away for later. Fury would want to know that Fox was that high up in Hydra — and that she apparently had a rapport with Ronan enough that they were familiar enough for personal phone calls.

Ronan was practically sneering into the phone by the time he was done, and while he was speaking in more or less a low growl that was hard to eavesdrop on, she did catch the snide, "You've overstepped yourself once more, Lady Hydra," at the end of the conversation.

He snapped off the comm and stalked Natalie's way again, and she very quickly went back to wincing away and looking totally terrified and not at all interested in what he had been saying to Fox just moments ago. It wasn't hard, considering how livid he looked.

It took a moment longer for him to seem to decide on his next course of action. He turned to Natalie and put both hands on her desk as he leaned just a touch closer. "Find Victor Creed."

She let out the slightest noise of terror and very quickly nodded with a whispered 'yessir' and set to work, not sure at all where to even start looking, but ... well…. With a command like that, it was an immediate start-now-or-die kind of thing.


	50. Under the Radar

**Chapter 50: Under the Radar**

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Pepper Potts was in the surveillance room as usual, keeping track of incoming and outgoing missions and generally making sure that the minutiae stayed off of Coulson's desk. But this… this was definitely something that belonged on Coulson's desk.

She'd never seen anything like this on any Tahiti mission. A total blackout, completely unexpected, right after the Capitol newscast started to _gloat_ that they'd shot Kate and were well on their way to catching Logan. It was a very inconvenient time to stop knowing about what was going on.

"What is _happening_?" she asked no one in particular as, almost on cue, both Peter and Kurt burst into the room with concern painted all over their expressions.

"I'm not sure," Tony said as he started trying to hack into the feed, looking more and more perplexed the further he got. "It should _not_ be doing this," he muttered half under his breath. "Our comms are out on this feed too — nothing in or out."

"The Capitol had something like that," Peter said with a frown, while Kurt seemed to be hovering between Pepper and Tony. "Logan got it for Skye…"

"That's a weird present," Tony muttered.

"It was supposed to help with the TV spots," Peter muttered, leaning over Pepper's shoulder as he looked over the incoming data.

"How long is this supposed to last?" Kurt asked irritably. "Where are they?"

"You know more about this gizmo than I do, apparently," Tony said in a huff. "You tell me."

"I'll get Skye," Peter offered. "She's the one that took it apart…" He glanced at Kurt's frustrated expression and shifted into gear, though he almost needn't have bothered, since Skye was close by and also interested in what all the fuss was about.

But when she got there, she didn't look nearly as concerned as the other kids. "Oh, yeah," she said with a little nod. "That — that's just to make sure no one can track them on their escape." She glanced at Kurt in particular and gave him a tight smile. "It just means Logan's trying to cover their tracks."

Kurt glanced at her but didn't look nearly as reassured as she was probably hoping, since he could see that she wasn't exactly as relaxed as she was trying to look. "So how long will it last?" he asked slowly.

"Shouldn't be much longer, honestly," she said. "He doesn't need that much time to duck their stupid cameras. They've got nothing on Fitzsimmons' dwarves."

"And if they've developed something like the dwarves?" Kurt had to ask.

"Then we'll see where Logan and Kate are in the next few minutes," Skye said. "One way or another."

But when the Capitol feed did come up — along with Pepper's feeds — Kurt had to let out a breath of obvious relief when Logan and Kate weren't on the newscasts. Someone had captured an image of the two of them — Logan carrying Kate bridal style as she was hanging onto his shirt - but that was about it. None of the commentators knew what had become of the two SHIELD operatives.

There was nothing useful on the Capitol feed aside from the continuing commentary about the long-lost relationship or whatever nonsense the Capitol newscasters were spinning that had both Kurt and Skye rolling their eyes _hard_. So, Pepper switched it off as she went to the SHIELD channels instead.

"They see what they want to," Skye said with a little glare.

"They're just trying to find a way to screw with you guys," Tony agreed. "The ones that know better are just buying into it to be mean." He couldn't help but smirk as he added, "Nice visual, though."

"You're hilarious," Skye said, shaking her head.

"Admit it; you were one of the swooning fangirls too," Tony shot back.

"Shut up!" she shot back, pushing his shoulder quickly before she let her voice drop. "Just that one time…"

He grinned even wider at that. "Knew it."

She couldn't help but smile with him even as she punched his arm. "Get back to work."

It wasn't long after that when the radio call came in for May. They'd reached a different checkpoint than what they'd agreed to — one a fair bit closer for her to get to and totally in a different direction from where the Nova Corps were looking. "Make sure that you bring morphine," Logan added before he simply signed off.

Kurt was half-holding his breath when he heard it and glanced toward Skye. "Head to the hangar?" she asked, and he nodded wordlessly and simply rushed as fast as his aching body would allow him to.

"Those two…" he muttered once they were nearly there, still shaking his head.

"Yeah, well ... if you knew where that checkpoint was, you'd realize that it was a very good thing," Skye replied, trying to soften the blow a little. "We had _no idea_ that Gamora was in that _district_ , let alone that area. I swear."

Kurt glanced her way and let out a long breath. "I believe you," he said quietly. "Or I would be knocking down the director's door this very moment for sending them out there alone."

"It was Coulson that sent them out. I saw the intel before it hit his desk," She leaned toward him with a whisper. "I was up late. Got sidetracked looking for something else entirely."

"That's a common problem for you?" he teased.

"You have no idea," she replied, looking out into the hangar with her arms crossed, just waiting for some sign of life.

Kurt was halfway pacing by the time the jet returned to the hangar, despite Skye's reassurances that this was the easy part, getting back. And he wasn't exactly helped by the fact that medical arrived in the hangar to attend to Kate once the door was open.

Still, he almost couldn't help but smile when he saw Kate. She was definitely riding the morphine high and broke into a girlish giggle the second she saw Kurt, reaching out with one hand for him even as medical got her rolling out.

"Lookit that, Trickshot, I didn't even have to go find him for you," Logan said as she got a hold of her Elf.

"I am so, so-o-o-o-o spoiled," she agreed, still giggling as she half snuggled into Kurt's arm, since that was the first thing she had hold of — and they were moving.

"Why is that?" Kurt had to ask.

"Got my Elf, got to shoot Nova Corp. Got my guy they sent me after. Except for being shot, I just can't miss today," she giggled. "And I can't feel a _thing_ so…"

"She got a solid dose before I set her down in the plane," Logan said — half to Kurt, and half to the medics.

"Mmhmm. He carried me, and I shot anyone who tried to sneak up on us. Bang!" Kate grinned with the fingers of her left hand in a gun.

"There weren't too many of those after we got moving good," Logan added — this time entirely to Kurt.

Kurt nodded and put a hand on Logan's shoulder. "Thank you for getting her out," he said gratefully. "We saw the footage from the Capitol…"

"What footage?" Logan asked with a frown. "I thought I killed that."

"Before," Kurt explained. "They had cameras on Gamora, and they caught the two of you — they were gloating about it, too."

"After they shot her then," Logan said, looking irritated.

"Yes." Kurt matched Logan's look of irritation. "They were talking about the two of you…" He let out a derisive noise and shook his head. "The same old nonsense. It never changes."

"You think they'd come up with something new," Logan agreed, though he didn't look nearly as tweaked over it as Kurt was. He'd heard it far too much to even really have it ping his radar.

Kurt shook his head, still irritated, though he glanced at Logan a little closer now that he was sure Kate would be alright. "Logan," he said with a frown as he got a good look at his uniform. "You should go with Kate — you've been shot too."

"Yeah, a few times. Armor caught it, I'm fine," Logan replied in an almost bored tone. "Probably bruised to high heaven, but I'll live."

Kurt shook his head. "You should get yourself checked out all the same. Or you'll have Kate coming after you on crutches to back me up on this," he teased.

"I'm not concerned," Logan replied. "Go watch over your busted up hawk," he advised. "I'll go fill in whoever wants to hear about it."

Kurt frowned his way for a moment, then let out a little huff. "Fine. Be sore all day. It would serve you right," he waved him off.

"Simmons will get to me before I step out of briefing," Logan called back to him.

"She can't resist the poking," Skye teased as she caught up to Logan and looped an arm through his to kiss his cheek.

"Anytime it's over ten minutes, I know it's got to be comin'," he agreed.

She smirked at him as she walked with him to Coulson's office for the expected briefing. "Rotten way for me to find out you're stepping out on me on national TV," she had to tease him — just because she didn't get many openings to tease like that.

"Well, I don't like to be the bearer of bad news," he said without missing a beat. "Obviously, you didn't do your research well enough. That was all over the papers forever."

She chuckled and kissed his cheek again. "Yeah, I read something like that. Still not sure I believe it." When they got to Coulson's office, she leaned in to give him a proper kiss and then grinned. "Try not to get too wrapped up."

"Won't be long," he agreed before he stepped into the office where both Coulson and Fury were waiting.

* * *

 _May 25_

 _Tahiti's Research and Development Department_

* * *

"Took you long enough to get here," Tony said with a frown when Skye finally made her appearance in his labs. "Most of the team can't wait to get a hold of my presents when I make such a valiant effort to build them something special." His tone sounded almost hurt — but that certainly wasn't the actual case. He was just being a pain — as usual. Playing up himself because he wanted the accolades and attention.

"Yeah, I had to finish what I was working on. Sensitive juncture. You know how that is. Working on a laptop instead of something with more beef …" She rolled her eyes as she pulled the chair next to him out. "Three cycles per frame, but at least it's rolling all on its own so I don't have to babysit it. What's up?"

"I have a present," Tony said with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Be still my heart; should I have brought back up?" she teased, which of course just got a wider smile from Tony. Picking on Fitz like this was always met with a sputtered, shy response, but Tony was an entirely different ballgame.

"Oh no, no, no … I'm pretty sure you can handle this one alone," he teased.

She narrowed her eyes for just a second, and a crooked smile quirked the corner of her mouth up. "Is this because my boyfriend stabbed you to death in the Games?"

Tony's good humor slipped — but only for a second. "Yes, that is part of it, but that's not why you don't need back up." He hit a button that made the glass in the labs shift to opaque — a more high-tech version of the roll-down privacy barriers that Fitzsimmons had in their lab.

"I want to make sure this stays secret," Tony said in an almost husky voice as he waggled his eyebrows for a second. She watched him with an expression of disbelief as he pulled out a box from under his work bench and put his hand out to take hers. "I have been reliably informed that super secret sneaky weapons are a great bonus to have when doing battle with over confident nutbags." He pulled out some very streamlined-looking gauntlets — shining metal, articulated at the wrist so that it would cover her hands up to the knuckles.

"I saw you come in with the kids after the kidnapping fiasco, and it occured to me that you needed something sneaky if you're going to run with Wolverine. This … is a new trick of my own design, of course. For the most part, you can pull your sleeves over them … the long part of the gauntlets that go over your forearms are designed to absorb the worst of the vibrations, but — and I have tested these — set the vibration right. Lay your hands on it, and you can disassemble anything from a padlock to an entire structure." He tipped his head to the side. "Get it right when you hit someone square or grab a limb, and you could probably shatter bones or explode their heart."

She stared at the new weapons on her arms for a moment with raised eyebrows. "That … actually sounds like some pretty nasty firepower." She looked up at him with alarm. "And I have to try not to … shatter bones ... or _explode hearts?_ "

"Hey. I just make the weapons. It's up to you how you use them, but Coulson and I agreed that if you're going to go in with the Tahiti teams, it's only fair that you get something custom like they all have. I mean, look at it," Tony continued. "Cap has a shield, Parker and Miles have web slingers now so they can be actual Spider-men. Kate and Clint have a whole arsenal of custom trick arrows. I've even got my suit ... which … admittedly I have yet to field test, but Coulson and Fury both are a little itchy right now about anyone flying around impersonating a bogey, so that will just have to wait until we need it." He let out a breath and leaned further back in his chair. "Face it. The people around you all have heavy duty-fire power. Even your boyfriend has freakin' claws _in_ his arms, and have I mentioned exactly how disturbing that little detail is? That … Fitz can't feel good about that now."

"He doesn't," Skye said, "I mean, he's kind of coming to peace with it — but only because Logan's making a point to make the most out of them—"

"Which is also very disturbing," Stark finished. The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Tony urged her to give her new weapons a try. "I've got an area set up for testing. I want to make sure you know how to work them and that you're at least semi-comfortable with them before you leave."

"Do I leave them here in the meantime?" she asked, surprised when Tony shook his head.

"You won't always have time to get through my security to get your gear, so like everyone else — keep it where you can grab it fast. After the base change and all that noise with Hydra screwing up our first 'out of the Captiol' base for us? I'm maybe a titch paranoid."

With that, Tony took her into his testing room, and the two of them spent a good long time fine tuning her gauntlets. When they were done, she left in a bit of a daze, shocked at how quickly she'd taken to them — and how it really took little time before she was comfortable enough wearing them that they really didn't bother her.

Still though …. Before she went to her laptop that had been whirling and working in her absence, she made a stop to her room, where she carefully tucked the new weapons away where no one would see them. _He did say to keep it secret,_ she thought to herself.


	51. You Guys Are So High

**Chapter 51: You Guys Are So High**

* * *

 _May 26_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

For the past couple days, Kate had been getting around just fine on the crutches medical had given her, and she thought she'd stop in and see how Kurt was doing. She got more kisses that way anyway — something about how she shouldn't be overtaxing herself.

But to her surprise, she met him in the hallway. He seemed to be headed to gear up — though there wasn't anything on the mission schedule. She frowned his way, though he did stop in his hurry to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her into a quick kiss. "Where are you going?" she asked with one eyebrow raised.

"I have a mission," he said with a grin.

She couldn't help but smile at the excited look on his face and kissed him again. "Jealous," she teased.

"You should be," he replied. "I'm headed out with Logan and Wade this time."

She grinned even wider this time and kissed him all over again, this time with the proper enthusiasm. "Be _careful_ ," she told him seriously, knowing that particular team had a talent for the worst kind of trouble.

"You worry too much," Kurt said before he kissed her quickly. "We'll be fine."

"Uh-huh. It's not that I doubt you? But I'm just hobbling over to hang out with Skye for worried girlfriend reasons."

"Then as I understand it, you should be able to watch the whole thing," Kurt replied. "They wear body cams for their missions."

"Which is why I'm headed that way." She tapped her temple by her eyes. "I like to have eyes on my guys."

"We'll try not to be too spectacular for you," Kurt teased with his chin tipped up before he headed off to suit up.

Kate smiled after him and then hobbled off to Skye's office, giving her a little wordless wave as she settled in beside her. "Don't mind me. I'm not even here."

"Right?" Skye replied before she handed her the bowl of popcorn. "We've got time before anything fun starts."

Kate grinned and helped herself to a big handful. "Well, this time there's an Elf in the mix, so I'm expecting much more dramatics," she laughed.

"First mission? Could go either way," Skye replied. "Cameras don't go on until they exit the plane. Can't have them being tracked before or after. Sadly."

Kate sighed. "Then we're missing all the hair-braiding and talking about girls?"

"Oh no; we have the audio feeds," Skye said, nodding her head. "That's a more secured line, and I don't think Fury could take it if he couldn't hear them on their way in."

"Has to get his gossip fix somehow," Kate teased.

"Well, when you don't _trust anyone,_ it makes it hard to make friends."

"Good thing our next director doesn't have that problem," Kate teased, throwing a kernel of popcorn at Skye to hit her in the forehead. "That's you, director."

"Oh, are you joining that party officially?" Skye asked before she threw a few kernels back.

"I can totally see it," Kate said. "So bossy. And you're the one with all the answers around here," she teased.

"And now I see why you and Logan are friends," she teased. "Great imaginations."

She just smirked. "Nu-uh. We're just _right_."

"Delusional," she muttered, leaning back in her chair. "You'll never pass my psych eval."

"Oh no. I guess you'll just have to put me on house arrest. With an Elf. Whatever shall I do," Kate deadpanned.

"Yep. Somewhere with a beach," Skye agreed.

"I already want you as the new director. How can we hurry this along?" Kate laughed.

"Win? And talk Fury into retiring peacefully. And … I think I'm well behind at least a dozen other people … you know... _Qualified applicants._ "

"Well, I shoulda just taken a shot at Gamora then. Step closer to winning, and they shot at me anyhow," Kate laughed lightly.

"Yeah, that was just … weird," Skye said with a little frown. "Fury was _pissed._ "

"Why — because I didn't take the shot, because Logan was on TV again, or because he didn't know we'd have a princess there?"

"No," she said as she leaned forward and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Because apparently, according to Bobbi, _Hydra_ knew she was going to be there, knew _you_ were going to be there, and were hoping that we'd kill her _for them and take the heat._ "

Kate stared at Skye for a moment before she just looked _mad_. "Well." She sniffed. "That's just _stupid_."

"It is," she agreed. "But it means we still have a leak — or a tap on the wire somewhere. _But_ it's got to be someone that doesn't have access to Weapon X, because if they knew how many times Gamora had walked through their crosshairs …"

"And they didn't take the shot?" Kate shook her head. "That woman is living on borrowed time."

"Like I know Logan told you — if whoever it was had taken the shot, they'd be dead right now. Bad side of working a team like this is that no one knows they're there to back them up most of the time."

Kate let out her breath. "True." She leaned forward with a little sparkle in her eye. "But it would've been nice. Can you imagine the look on Quill's face if she was gone?"

"Oh, we have a bottle of champagne stashed just for him when it does happen," Skye assured her.

"It'll be a party," Kate agreed, leaning back with a smile as she tossed popcorn in the air to catch in her mouth. "Hopefully, we'll get it done before Kitty's old enough to drink," she added with a little playful sparkle in her eyes.

"Why is that? You think you're going to be the one to corrupt her?" Skye laughed.

"Oh no — I just think it would be oh-so-good for him to _share_ the champagne," Kate laughed.

"She'll get a glass," Skye said, nodding to herself. "One way or another."

Kate grinned as she leaned back, and the two of them settled in to relax, lightly paying attention to the mission chatter — most of it Wade. But when Logan told him to keep the channel clear — finally — even Wade's enthusiastic speculation dropped off to nothing.

"Alright, here we go," Skye said as she double- and triple-checked that there were enough screens up and ready to record. "This one is Kurt's," she said, pointing to the one nearest Kate. "I didn't think you'd want to search for it. It's his point of view, but if you want to _see_ him, probably watch Maverick's." She pointed to a different monitor — also nearby.

Kate grinned at Skye for that one and lightly slugged her in the shoulder. "You're my favorite director."

"You keep saying that, but it's not even a contest at this point," Skye laughed.

Kate laughed along with her and settled in to watch her Elf and keep an eye on what he was up to, though she had to glance at Skye about halfway through and shake her head. Skye acted like this was normal, but already, Kate was sure this was heavier than anything she was used to.

It was clear once they'd gotten to their objective — planting some relays in a major server and then breaking into a safe that no one was supposed to know existed in Five — that it wasn't a simple cut-and-dried, in-and-out mission. They were partway down a hall when an explosion went off ahead of the team, and Kurt's camera caught the action as Wade hauled Logan back right in front of Kurt.

Wade's voice was barely heard over the sound of gunfire as he asked if he was alright — simultaneously firing toward where the explosion had happened. It took a few moments, but all four of them were returning fire in no time, even as the enemy's rounds were ricocheting off their vests and helmets.

The advantage of all of them wearing cameras was that for the most part, Skye and Kate could see what each of them was up to. But when they were pinned down like this under heavy fire, it wasn't much of a help. Muzzle blasts and ricochet sparks were the most easily spotted amid the dark clothes bunched up close — though Kate had to smirk in spite of all of it as she watched each member of the team handing ammo back and forth without a word spoken between them as one or another ran low. It was a heavy assignment — but they were nearly seamless.

The team was starting to get back into their formation — the camera angles suggesting that they'd lightened up the assault enough that they could move at least — when first Wade, and then Logan both got shot. Wade's shot was high enough that it could only be described as either a fantastic or a lucky shot, as it had gone directly through the ball and socket in his left arm — blowing it entirely so he couldn't even hold it upright.

Logan's was one that went through his arm — the long way, the bullet lodging just under the arm — and though he didn't lose use of it right away, both of them were swearing up a streak as soon as it happened. Maverick rushed ahead to try and take out the sniper that had hit them, and Kurt tried to cover their other side, though he was obviously distracted by both of his friends in clear pain.

When another bullet whizzed past Logan's ear, though …

"Dumb sonofabitch doesn't know when to stop," Logan snarled before he darted out past Maverick at a dead run, gun long forgotten. The enemy fire was concentrated and heavy, and Wade let out a quiet 'oh crap, not again' before he ran right after Logan.

The last Kurt saw of either of them was when Logan clearly vaulted over a low wall … with Wade not ten steps behind him.

For a moment, the gun fire increased, and Kurt made a move to follow, but Maverick grabbed his arm and hauled him back before the gunfire died out very quickly after that. " _Now_ we go get them," Maverick said.

The two of them came to the same point Logan and Wade had gone, and Maverick cautiously looked over the barrier before he gave Kurt the signal to go forward. "I've got your back. We need to get back into formation if we can and get the hell out."

Wade and Logan were both leaning against a low concrete wall. Both of them were panting heavily and coated in a layer of blood, more or less. Though they were both bleeding themselves, it was clear that Logan anyhow had gotten too close when he'd cut up some of the soldiers — if the splatter was any indicator.

Logan looked up at Kurt for a moment. "Our original exit's shot. Which way?"

Kurt blinked at his blood-covered friend and cleared his throat before he consulted his readout and nodded, pointing the way wordlessly. If he said anything, it might be to tell Logan just what he thought about this team and their missions.

Logan nodded and took his gun back from Maverick — who had thoughtfully picked it up before he and Kurt came after them — and with a long exhale, they took up their positions and booked it out of there. But, by the time they got nearly to the checkpoint, both of their injured number were slowing down substantially — though if it was from their wounds or the amount of exertion they'd put into that final push …

"I got the tall one," Maverick said, taking a few quick steps to more or less catch Wade as he swayed on the spot. And Kurt moved to do the same for Logan, wrapping his arm around Logan's shoulders as he shook his head at his friend.

"You don't gotta do that," Logan said slowly.

"I think I will anyway," Kurt said, still shaking his head.

"We did okay till that bomb went off," Logan said, trying to figure out where the trouble had come from.

"Yes, and now you are covered in blood," Kurt pointed out.

"I did notice that," Logan said as they stepped on to the waiting plane. The little group was taking off their gear as the plane lifted off, not bothering with seats until they were free of the stiff armored gear.

That at least helped with removing some of the blood splatter — that which wasn't dried already anyhow — and it showed the extent of the injuries both Logan and Wade had sustained as their teammates forcibly directed them into seats.

"Through and through," Maverick told Wade. "Got some bits of bone ... but .. they can probably fix it well enough." He turned toward Kurt. "What about you?"

"It looks like whoever's on tonight is going to have to dig out a round," Kurt said, frowning deeper at his friend as Logan tipped his head to the side.

"No, Elf. He means what about you — you didn't get out scot-free," Logan told him, reaching out to where Kurt's uniform was a more wet-looking black.

Kurt looked down in obvious surprise. "That… I didn't notice it," he muttered out.

"I noticed," Logan said as he helped Kurt get to a point that he could see the wound in his shoulder better. "I'm not the only one getting dug into." Logan got up and made his way over to the medical cabinet across the aisle and returned with three loaded syringes. "Where you want it?" he asked as Wade took his shot to give to himself. He sat down across from Kurt and held out the dose. "Unless you want me to give it to you."

Kurt let out a sigh. "Go ahead."

He nodded his head and rolled up Kurt's sleeve before he slipped him the dose quickly. "Should last us until we land, anyhow."

* * *

 _Skye's Office_

* * *

"Any final word from the boys yet?" Fury asked as he invited himself to Skye's office, his hands on his hips and a glare on his face.

The two girls glanced up at the director and shook their heads in unison. "Not yet," Skye said.

"Who have we got on medical tonight?" he asked.

"Looks like everyone but Mav," Skye told him.

"And Simmons is out for the evening," he replied, shaking his head. "Any word on how bad?" He didn't wait for an answer before he changed his mind and pointed Skye's way. "Make them check in." Fury was pacing, clearly frustrated.

Skye nodded and leaned into the comm for a moment. "Check in, guys. I need everybody."

"Nobody _died_ ," Wade sang out. "We're just … we're just a little high. It's _fine._ "

Skye and Kate glanced at each other with ill-hidden chuckles as Skye reached for the comm to call Cecilia in, and it wasn't long before the doctor showed up with a distinctly unamused expression, since she had been on shift for the main medical bay for SHIELD personnel after a recent Hydra hit.

"I've been half covered in blood all night. Stitches and concussions … please tell me these guys aren't going to be a major patch job. Please," Cecelia said, already sounding tired.

"You know I have no control over that," Fury replied before he took to the comm himself to ask the guys to check in. "I need a check in from everyone — individually, right now."

There was a chuckling over the comms, and one by one they all called out their code names — though Logan and Kurt switched with each other.

Fury shook his head. "I wish they'd check in before they self medicate," he said before he hit the comm button again. "Do you need medical intervention? Celia would like to know how bad you're all doing if there is trouble"

There was about five seconds' lag before the radio room started to echo with a rhythm of stomping and clapping before the whole of Team X came through the radio …

' _Celia, you're breaking my heart, You're shaking my confidence daily. Oh Ce-cilia, I'm down on my knees, I'm begging you please to come home.'_

"They're drugged," Celia said with a look of disbelief, but Kate ooked like Christmas had come early.

"Yes they are," Fury said, shaking his head.

' _Making love in the afternoon with Cecilia up in my bedroom. I got up to wash my face when I came back to bed someone's taken my place. CELIA you're breaking my heart, you're shaking my confidence daily_ — _OH CE-CILIA I'M DOWN ON MY KNEES … '_

"Knock it off," Fury called out over the singing as laughter erupted along with the song from the team. "We'll have full medical for you on your arrival."

Kate grinned _even wider_ as she leaned forward. "The tenor's mine," she informed the rest of the room.

Skye was trying to hide her smile as Fury and Celia left the room. "That … is a first."

"What, you mean they don't serenade you every time? They are _slacking_."

"Are you kidding me? If they did that every mission, I'd be selling tickets," she laughed.

"You'd sell out in a second too. They aren't half bad," Kate said, shaking her head. "They must really be hurting… I've never heard Logan sing."

"He does when he's drunk," Skye told her. "Like … really, really drunk."

"And I _missed_ it?"

"You've missed so much," she said, nodding slowly. "Singing included." The girls got up and headed for the medical bay — no reason to head to the hangar when they knew where the guys were going to be headed.

"Well, as his apparent secret girlfriend, I feel like I should have been serenaded by now," Kate teased, bumping Skye's shoulder as they walked.

"You'll just have to get him drunk," Skye decided. "Which he can't do if he's on painkillers. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll still be high enough to continue when they get here?"

"Well, we'll just have to plan a party. Maybe a victory celebration. Kill a princess, name you director, all that," Kate said with a wave of her hand.

"We'll have to see what's next. Anyone have a birthday coming?"

"Wade and Cassie celebrate in June… actually, I think Scott too. Don't think _he's_ the drinking party type, though," Kate laughed.

"No, definitely not," Skye agreed with a smile. "His mom and dad would never allow it."

"I dunno. Mac's pretty cool for a Sentinel," Kate teased.

"Oh, for sure," she agreed. "And … you know that troublemaking gene has to be shared."

"Oh absolutely." Kate nodded seriously. "We should find out when his birthday is. Logan will get him started… maybe he's got a decent bass too…."

"I'm reasonably sure Scott won't let Logan do anything for him if he can avoid it."

"Well…" Kate tipped her head to the side. "Maybe _this_ time we'll let him do a family party. Just this once. Just because it's the first."

"And he's only going to be what … seventeen?" Skye asked.

"Going on thirty," Kate chuckled.

"Going on forty, who are you kidding?"

Kate leaned forward with a twinkle in her eyes. "Yeah, but he loosens up around Clara and her wolf," she whispered.

"Does he loosen up enough to take a compliment?"

"Only when he thinks it's just the two of them."

"Sounds about right," she said, though the two of them stepped back as the medical staff rushed by — with Logan and Wade both solidly out on stretchers and Kurt being fussed over as two nurses tried to clean the shoulder wound. "Looks like you've got a shorter wait than I do."

"Well, heaven forbid they make me wait around on these," Kate teased, holding her crutches out to the side. "The other two are just being considerate for me."

"Well , mine's not going to be too happy. Every time he comes in like this, Simmons comes in after the regular docs are done and starts … poking. I'm starting to think he's right and that she's waiting on purpose."

"She has a warped sense of humor," Kate laughed.

"She just wants un-drugged samples, but … come on."

"She wants un-drugged Logan," Kate corrected. "He likes to hit on her to make Fitz mad otherwise."

"Only if he's around," Skye said with a laugh. "I'd _pay_ to see him pull that stunt on them when he was high. That … you know he'd lay it on thick."

"Oh yeah. By the time he was done with them, Fitz would be so purple he'd be proposing by midnight just to make it stop."

"Put that on the to-do list," Skye muttered under her breath. "He got them to kiss when he locked them in the lab with nothing else to do but drink champagne and eat chocolates. Devious."

Kate giggled. "Well, _someone_ had to do it. We were wondering what finally pushed them over the edge."

"That's why May owes him a bottle of booze," Skye confided.

"Well that just explains everything," Kate laughed. She gave Skye a crooked grin and a two-fingered salute as she maneuvered to climb into a seat by Kurt. "Have fun with your bass!"


	52. Good News For the Bad Guys

**Chapter 52: Good News for the Bad Guys**

* * *

 _June 1_

 _In the Capitol_

* * *

Natalie wasn't entirely sure how she had been the one to end up running this particular business transaction on Ronan's behalf. She wasn't complaining; it meant she had… well... 'trust' wasn't the word she would use for it, but it was the closest thing to it, anyway. He was relying on her — that was good. She could get better intel that way.

There were obvious downsides, of course, like the little tantrum he'd had when Victor Creed had _required_ that he be paid in full up-front. It was a very well-timed duck that saved her from getting hit by anything Ronan had thrown, and she managed to make it look completely unnatural and like a lucky move.

But this time, it was good news, even for SHIELD — having someone this high up in Hydra out of the picture was good. But Ronan in particular had taken the whole thing personally. Apparently, Silver Fox had promised to work with him on some new brainwashing technique and instead put spies in his office. It was enough that he was even willing to ask a _victor_ to step in.

When Natalie received the notification, the footage and images of Creed's handiwork that Ronan had requested, she had transferred it all to a drive and hastily made her way through the palace, clutching her arms to her chest so that anyone she passed could see that she was terrified of where she was going.

She peeked around the corner and gave a hesitant knock on Ronan's door, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet and biting her lip hard. "I have the footage, sir," she called out, making sure to let her voice catch several times even in such a short sentence.

He called for her to enter — his voice sounding a bit distant through the heavy door — and she slipped quietly inside, her gaze down as she made her way to the desk with the drive in her hand. "It's all here," she said quietly.

He stepped out from a semi hidden entrance that led to his 'other' office, blood on his hands. "Show me," he ordered as he walked closer to her.

She let out the smallest of squeaks when he had appeared and nodded hard, slipping toward the nearest terminal so that she could set up the footage, her body language clearly shrinking from the man with bloodied knuckles.

When the footage played, she kept a wary eye on him as indirectly as possible. She did _not_ like being this close, no matter what it meant for how much intel she could gather. Even with her abilities… it was downright unsettling.

But this time, there was no tantrum, just an ever-growing smirk as he looked over Creed's bloody handiwork and nodded once before he stepped back from the desk. "Leave this with me," he said, and she very quickly nodded as she tried to shakily duck around his desk, though before she could leave, he added, "We're not finished until he sends word on the Wolverine. Make sure he knows _that_ fee will not be paid until delivery."

Natalie nodded a few times but didn't relay to him what she knew — that Creed wasn't going to hand Logan over. That kid had more enemies than was healthy for any sane person. "Yes, sir. The alert is still active — the moment he's found, you'll know," she said in half of a squeak and then hit the door before he could ask anything else of her.

* * *

 _Hydra Base_

* * *

Bobbi had been waiting for what seemed like a very long time outside of the Skull's offices. The guard detail he had in rotation was watching her closely as she waited — until the doors opened and Viper finally strode out with a little extra sway to her step, a new, long flowing green cloak on her shoulders and an ill-hidden smirk on her lips.

"Come along now," she said to Bobbi. "It's time we set you up with better credentials."

Bobbi's eyebrows shot up as she caught up to Viper. "Good news, then?"

"Oh, very good," she replied in a purr. "And what's good for me is good for you. You've been promoted, Miss Morse."

"Then we should celebrate," she said.

"Absolutely," Viper said, grinning widely. "You're looking at the new Lady Hydra."

Bobbi stopped in her tracks for just a moment before she let out a little disbelieving laugh. "When did that happen? That's excellent news."

"When Victor Creed separated Silver Fox's head from her shoulders," she replied, outright grinning.

Bobbi put a little skip in her step as she caught up to Viper again. "I can't say I'll weep over news like that. She was insufferable, and I'd only met her in passing."

"She was," Viper agreed. "She thought she had the corner market … but, there are always alternative routes."

Bobbi chuckled and had to nod her agreement. "There's always another way — usually more fun, as you've taught me."

"Oh, my way is _always_ more fun," she promised. "But this just means you need to get rid of that silly temporary pass that says you have to be with me. I don't have time to escort you around everywhere."

Bobbi grinned even wider. "Finally — a chance to stretch," she said.

"This also means that anyone lower than Von Strucker's lieutenants are open season if they insult you," Viper informed her.

At that, Bobbi let out a laugh. "This just keeps getting better and better. I think I have an excellent wine for something like this," she said, the grin getting wider and wider. "I was saving it for when we knock Fury from his throne, but… I can find something else for that."

Viper smiled sedately at that. "That man isn't long for this world," she said, mostly to herself. "And I have the freedom to do what I choose. So it's time to set a few things in motion. Long overdue, really."

Bobbi grinned her way. "Let me know what you need. It's the least I can do for getting the training leash off."

"Oh, when the time comes, you'll know. I don't plan to be nearly so exclusive as Silver Fox was trying to be with her reprogramming project. I'll need to make sure you know how it's done. Twice as many that way."

Bobbi nodded with her smile still in place as she filed that away for the next report she'd send Fury and let her grin go wider. "And here I thought we were through with all our lessons."

"Not at all," Viper said, stopping and turning her way. "But we'll start you with someone easy. You'll need to know how to do this in case we come across one that's particularly willful."

Bobbi shrugged with her arms outspread. "I'm always ready to learn something new. Like you said, yours is the fun way," she said, already trying to plan how best to relay this new information to Fury without getting in deeper than she meant to — though she had a feeling that was a long-lost battle.

VIper led her down a series of twisting hallways until she slowed to a stop and took a deep breath. "Now. Control your reactions; do not show fear or horror, if you can. I'm told this can be a bit shocking to start with," Viper said as she watched Bobbi nod her head decisively. The door opened to reveal the escort from Ten strapped down to an exam table — from his ankles to his forehead … there was no way for the man to move.

"Mr. Jameson has been saying some nasty things about Hydra," Viper said as she took her cloak off and hung it over a chair nearby. "We're going to adjust his worldview."

Bobbi blinked at her for a moment and then nodded as she moved around to stand closer. "Thought you said we'd start easy," she said with a small smile. "He's a stubborn loudmouth."

"Relatively speaking, of course," Viper replied smoothly as her smile grew. "We'll be dealing with much more difficult people."

"Well then." Bobbi took in a breath through her nose and mouth. "Lead the way, Lady Hydra."

"We'll start with the drugs then," Viper said smiling down on Jameson. "And then we'll see how hard-headed our new friend really is."

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kurt had heard about the training that morning from Wade, but when he came down to coffee, he was not dressed for it in the least, barefoot and half awake as he filled up a cup of coffee for himself, just sitting down with it when Logan arrived.

Logan sat down across from him, and Kurt watched him over the top of his mug for a moment. "Have you even had enough time to heal?" he asked at last.

"They gave me something for that," Logan said in a disinterested tone. "I'm fine." He lifted his mug and took a good long drink. "You're out, huh?"

Kurt nodded. "This team… it isn't for me," he admitted.

"I really didn't think it would be," Logan agreed. "But I wasn't about to say no."

"Let me learn from my own hubris?" Kurt asked with a small smirk, one eyebrow quirked up.

"You wouldn't have listened otherwise," Logan pointed out over his mug.

Kurt had to smirk a little wider at that. "Well, I suppose we have that in common."

"So, what? Couldn't sleep?" Logan asked as he tipped his chin to Kurt's dress — or lack thereof.

Kurt chuckled. "I just thought I'd share a cup of coffee with my best friend this morning," he said.

"I'm not complaining," Logan replied, shaking his head.

"I won't be training, though — and I will be going back to sleep," Kurt said with a little laugh.

"Not alone, I hope."

Kurt raised both eyebrows over his mug. "That's the arrangement, yes."

Logan shook his head. "No. Ignore the arrangement. How long have you two been tiptoeing around?"

Kurt couldn't help but let out a sheepish laugh. "Are we including the sneaking around when dating was entirely prohibited or…?"

"Yeah, all of it," Logan said, nodding his head.

"Then ... about a month after the Games," Kurt said, thinking it over. "That's when she woke up from Tahiti."

Logan let his mug thunk against the table as he stared back at Kurt, almost wide-eyed. "Are you kiddin' me?"

Kurt shook his head at that. "No — why?"

"What the hell're you waitin' for?" Logan looked as if he thought Kurt was entirely out of his mind. "You _are_ interested in her, right?"

"Obviously." Kurt matched Logan's look of disbelief.

"Then what's your hold up?"

Kurt looked properly flushed for a moment before he had to shake his head. "There… is no hold up. It's just that ... well…. We're seventeen, Logan. There's no rush."

"I was _engaged_ at seventeen, and we absolutely didn't wait to get engaged," he replied flatly. "Or for anything else."

Kurt gave his friend his best dry look. "Are you trying to push me into marriage, _mein Freund_?" he teased.

"Nope, that wasn't the angle I was headed toward." He smirked at Kurt and tipped his head toward where Bruce was alone in the corner with his tea and a book. "Even Banner took a shot at his stylist. Come on."

Kurt flushed once more with a muttered, " _Du blamierst mich._ "

"He's still head over heels for her," Logan pointed out. "But he gave it a shot _before_ something bad happened." He paused and pointed a finger to himself. "The bad thing being me, of course."

"Come on, Logan — you can't carry that forever," Kurt said, shaking his head.

"Quit tryin' to change the subject," Logan replied.

"You brought it up," Kurt pointed out.

"I was illustrating a point," Logan said.

"Your illustration needed correction."

He raised an eyebrow. "You want me to draw you pictures? Didn't think you were the type."

Kurt turned a brilliant pink and quickly shook his head. "That is _not_ what I meant."

"Pretty sure I can set Clint on her to draw the same diagrams."

"Please don't," Kurt said, holding up both hands. He shook his head. "This was not the conversation I expected this morning."

"Alright, I'll let it go," Logan said with a nod. "Just think about it. Rules are made to be broken more often than not."

"Yes, well," Kurt said, settling his shoulders a bit. "In this case, there is more than just my feelings and _your_ ridiculous pushing to consider, and I won't push her."

"Check. Got it."

Kurt shook his head at Logan. "Logan, don't."

"I said I won't push, what's the problem?"

Kurt waved one hand his way. "Don't push her either."

Logan tipped his head and gave Kurt his driest look. "I don't know what you're choosin' to listen to … but that is never ever gonna be an issue."

Kurt matched Logan's dry look and then just had to let out a little chuckle. "Good. I'd hate to have to come after you for something like that."

"What did you think we'd be talking about?" Logan asked after a beat of silence had passed.

"Certainly not my sleeping arrangements," Kurt said, shaking his head. "Your team, maybe — or anything else."

"Wasn't your _sleeping_ arrangements …" Logan mumbled, badly hiding it as he took another drink and looked toward the door.

"Really, Logan."

"What?" He did a pretty darned convincing innocent look, as if it was Kurt bringing up all the dirt.

Kurt chuckled and shook his head as he took another long sip of coffee. "Oh. Kate mentioned that she knows a few good songs pitched for bass."

Logan shook his head. "I'm sure she does. Sounded like we gave them a concert."

"She still giggles every time she thinks about it," Kurt laughed.

"I don't remember that part."

"What — Skye hasn't shown you that?" Kurt teased.

"No," he admitted. "No video — and I'm not listening to any recordings."

Kurt laughed at that. "Actually, we don't sound that bad."

"Got Fury to instate a new rule, though," Logan told him. "Have to sign in before any meds are used. Apparently, you're the new Wolverine."

"Well, that makes you Nightcrawler, I suppose."

"Accordin' to the transcripts, yeah. It does."

Kurt looked him over and then broke into a grin. "It doesn't suit you at all."

"Not one bit," he agreed. "You healed up yet?"

Kurt rolled his shoulder. "Well enough. Luckily, I'm not an archer," he said with a self-deprecating smile. "It's still a little sore."

"When you feel up to it, we can hit the swords," Logan told him.

"Come find me in a few days," Kurt agreed. "Your technique is a little… rougher on my arms."

"More traditional than Wade and Betsy," he said with a nod.

" _Everyone_ is more traditional than Wade."

"True; he's just twirling his pom poms in his own little freak parade."

"And yet it's somehow effective." Kurt shook his head. "You were right — he is crazy enough for the team."

"You know all of us," Logan said as he got to his feet. "Pretty sure it's a requirement." With that, he raised his mug Kurt's way before he headed out to train .. again.

* * *

 _Hydra Base_

* * *

Bobbi had managed to keep up her 'interested' facade for most of Viper's 'lesson,' though some of her horror had slipped out all the same. Viper had expected it, so that hadn't hurt her cover too much, but…

She was halfway holding her breath all the way back to her quarters, where she got a hot shower started almost immediately. No cameras in the bathrooms.

At first, it was a matter of expediency. She wanted to be clean. But it took her only about three seconds before she was just standing underneath the hot water and just… trying to get a hold of herself. And when that didn't work ... trying to stay quiet about it when she started to cry.

This was _not_ what she signed on to do. Not for SHIELD, anyway.

By the time the hot water started to run out, she was leaning with her forehead on the tile, though she left the water running even after all the heat had left. It was a good cover for her transmission to Fury, and she slid the transmitter out from underneath the sink.

She tried to be as clinical about it as she could — there was a lot to relay. She needed to cover not only the brainwashing program but also the death of Silver Fox, Viper's promotion, and her own new status that went with it.

"You can pull me anytime," she concluded before she sent it off and finally turned off the water in the shower before she headed to bed. She was exhausted.

…..

 _Translation from German:_

 _Du blamierst mich. -_ You are embarrassing me.


	53. Regrets

**Chapter 53: Regrets**

* * *

 _Fury's Office_

* * *

For a long time after Fury heard Bobbi's transmission, he just stared out of the window. A lot to process was a massive understatement. They had suspected brainwashing was in Hydra's bag of tricks, but they had no real proof until now.

News about Viper's promotion was troubling. More so than hearing about Fox's death. The girl had been a loose cannon, and even Hydra knew it if they were tolerating anyone murdering someone that high up in their ranks — and there was no doubt that it had been allowed either, considering that Fox had a bigger protective entourage than the princess had. Or … she had a bigger protective detail than the princess _before_ the reported assassination attempt.

There was no way he'd be able to get around it. He'd have to break the news to his teams sooner rather than later. He couldn't ignore that the kids had all started making plans on who was going to try to capture or kill the ex-Lady Hydra, and he didn't need them wasting energy and effort on a person already dead.

First, though, he'd break the news to Logan, since the kid deserved to know how that had gone down, all things considered. So when the young man walked into his office, Fury gestured for him to take a seat and watched him for a moment. "The Capitol put a hit out on Lady Hydra — and this morning, Victor Creed collected on that hit."

Logan stared at him for a moment. "Creed." His tone was even, and he said it slowly, weighing it out.

"Ronan requested he be the one to go after her. It wasn't an accident that he was the one to kill her," Fury said with a frown. He watched Logan for another long moment before he added, "Hydra knew it was coming and didn't lift a finger to stop him."

"Was it because she was crazy, or they just really don't give a crap about anyone in their group?" Logan asked, his brows drawn together.

"A little bit of both," Fury admitted.

Logan dropped his gaze to his hands and let out a breath. "If we'd have moved to pick her up … could you have helped her?"

"She refused all our attempts to help her from day one," Fury told him. "From the moment she woke up, that girl had turned — she was _nothing_ like the girl you knew."

"Maybe I could have helped." He shook his head. "Or .. done my job right and killed the bastard when I had the chance."

"Logan, for as far gone as she was, we can't say that anything would have helped her," Fury reasoned in an almost gentle tone. "As for Creed — the next lead we have on him is yours," he added.

"You sure you want me on it?" Logan muttered.

"You don't want the kill?" Fury challenged.

"Don't know I'm good enough to pull it off," Logan answered honestly. "Screwed it up last time and nearly got killed myself in the process."

"You're good enough if I say you are, and you're the only name on my list for him."

Logan tipped his head to the side a tiny bit but still didn't really look up. "Anything else?"

"Just that her replacement is Viper, and I know I don't need to remind you you're on the top of her priorities."

"No idea why," he replied, finally meeting Fury's gaze.

"I make it a point not to try to think like that snake — gives me a headache," Fury said with a smirk.

"So. Kill Vic if I can manage to pull it off; avoid Viper. Got it."

"And for the love of God, try and stay off Ronan's radar. Our source in the Capitol says you were second on his list after Fox." Fury gave him a dry look. "Congratulations — you've moved to the top."

"I guess the rough crowd likes me," he replied with a little shrug. "But I haven't done anything to tweak Ronan lately anyhow. I'm not too concerned about that one unless he's in front of me."

"Just watch yourself," Fury said.

"Isn't that my whole job description?" Logan deadpanned, then stopped and furrowed his brow. "What about the big protocols? Am I supposed to ignore those now?"

"No," Fury said, shaking his head. "Just try not to need them."

"Pretty sure that was the original plan," Logan pointed out. "Anywhere you want me to go?"

"Don't have a mission for the moment, but I do need you to gather up the Tahiti kids. They need to know about this as well."

"Meet you there," he said with a nod before he got up to leave. He headed right for the Tahiti wing, though he passed Clint on the way. "Got a little briefing in a few with the little ones," Logan told him in passing.

"Sounds good. Got a meeting with the one-eyed tall one first."

"Then you probably get to escort him down like a nice little prom date. Don't let him go too far now," Logan called back. "Even if he gives you flowers."

"Well, my last one tied me up, and the one before that tried to kill me. Hoping they get a little less handsy as we move down the line"

"You can only hope it's not Wade next time, Barton," Logan said. "He'd do all that and more."

Clint chuckled and pulled a face. "Don't even joke — he would." He smirked Logan's way and gave him a two-fingered salute before he popped into Fury's office. "You rang?"

"Have a seat, Barton, I need to see if you're up to a secret protocol," Fury said. "One that I'm honestly hoping we don't need to use."

Clint raised an eyebrow as he dropped into the seat across from Fury. "Alright. Whatcha got?" he asked carefully.

Fury watched him for a moment before he pushed a folder across his desk to him, unblinking. "I have been reliably advised from several sources that you're the man to go to for a high-level sniper assignment."

"That's me — point and shoot," Clint said as he pulled the folder closer to look through it.

"This is a _highly classified_ assignment. If it comes up, wherever you are, whatever is going on, you need to drop it and go to your rendezvous listed in the file," Fury told him. "Every single person involved has recommended you for this."

Clint's eyebrows were high on his head as he read over the details, honestly shocked, though he couldn't help but grin a little at the praise when he read the names. "Yeah, I got it. Keep it quiet, make the shot, hope it doesn't go down this way."

"Right now, outside of myself, Hill, Coulson, and my team, you are the only person that knows about this. See that it stays that way."

Clint gave Fury a look for just a moment. "Despite what you've probably heard, I do actually know how to play it professional."

But Fury waved him off as he sat back in his chair. "Don't take it personal. If it was Coulson in here, he'd be getting the same speech."

"Well alright then." Clint pushed the folder back to Fury. "I already have a perch in mind from the last time I was there. Shouldn't be too hard if it does happen."

"Good," Fury replied as he pulled open a drawer and handed him a small device. "Keep this on you at all times. If the moment arises, you'll know it when I do, and you can get a move on. Now, obviously, if the team is on base, you don't need to worry about it."

"So plan all my engagements around that, got it," Clint smirked.

"I'm not planning on sending them out right away anyhow, for much of anything — you'll hear about it with the rest of them. Things are a little more unstable right now."

"Yeah, Logan told me there was a big briefing — and that you needed a prom escort. Didn't bring a corsage, though."

Fury gave him a dry look. "What makes you think I'm the one that would need the flowers?"

"They bring out your eye, sir," Clint replied without hesitating.

"You _sure_ you're up to this assignment? I'm starting to wonder if these people aren't just screwing with me."

"You need me to run a sim? Run my shooting range numbers by you?"

"Pass a new psych eval more like," Fury said shaking his head.

"Yeah, well, the resident head shrink is a little busier lately," Clint said with a sparkle in his tone. "Real secret."

"Worst kept secret on base," Fury said with a smirk. "Alright, prom queen, let's go give the kids the news. Unfortunately, you don't rate one on one for that."

"And here I thought we had something special, sir. Now I'm glad I didn't bring flowers." Clint stood up to leave, then paused. "Was kind of hoping you had a different assignment for me, to be honest," he said.

"What kind of assignment were you hoping for?"

"Just waiting for the call to get Bobbi outta Hydra — or Nat outta the Capitol," Clint told him.

"One of those is bound to happen far sooner than later," Fury promised.

"Let me know when it does," Clint said, no trace of teasing or lightness in his tone.

"If it's a mission that I don't send my team in on — you're on the top of that list as well."

Clint just nodded and then took in a long breath that turned into a sweeping gesture to the door part of the way through. "Well, shall we?"

Fury stopped in the doorway to meet Clint's gaze for a moment before he stepped through, shaking his head to himself. The two of them swept down the hall and into the Tahiti wing where, as he'd asked, the whole of the program was gathered and waiting for him. The bulk of the most enthusiastic among them were in the front row, anxious to hear what was happening, and as he'd expected, Logan was hanging far back, even away from his usual group.

Fury headed to the other side of the briefing room table and took in every face before he began. "Hydra has just gone through a high-level restructuring. Anyone that was on the lookout for Lady Hydra — more widely known as Silver Fox — you no longer have that burden."

"What happened?" Peter asked, a bit wide-eyed.

"The Capitol _hired_ Victor Creed to take her out," Fury replied as he met Peter's gaze.

"Oh man." Peter's voice was small, and the rest of the kids all looked taken aback at that.

"Which means you all will have to be far more cautious in the field, since her replacement as the new Lady Hydra has already been named," Fury said, pausing so he knew they were all over the shock of hearing that Fox was gone. "Ophelia Sarkissian, Viper, is Hydra's new second in command. And we now know what lengths she will go to in order to get her hands on any one of you."

There was a ripple of murmurs among the kids, and Clint was the one to say, "That isn't any better."

"It's really not," Fury agreed. "You should be especially careful of darts and arrows, since I am sure Viper will be adding poison to the list of possible dangers you will encounter in the field."

"If… you bring it home, we can work up an antidote," Miles offered. "I'm pretty good with venom."

"We already have several antidotes on file and prepared," Fury assured him. "It's just a matter of waiting to hear which compounds are being used right now before we manufacture emergency doses for you to carry with you in the field."

* * *

While Fury was answering questions, Logan simply slipped out of the door and started to head as far from the group as he could. Or that was his intention anyhow.

Skye caught up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?" she asked, honest concern in her voice and her expression.

"I'm always alright," he said automatically.

She raised an eyebrow. "Wanna try that answer again?"

He stopped and let out a breath. "Pretty sure it's not what anyone wants to hear."

"Try me," she said. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't want an answer."

He narrowed his eyes for a moment as he thought it over. "Alright," he said slowly. "They said Fox was nuts. But as far as I could see, it was SHIELD that got her there. Or … them letting Creed do whatever the hell he wanted. One or the other." He took a breath and held it for a few moments. "Can't really blame her for not trusting them when she woke up. Can't say I trust 'em much myself. And now I'm stuck wondering... if I'd have gone out after her, If I'd had a chance to talk to her ... maybe she'd still be alive. Maybe Charlie coulda had a shot at settin' her straight and on our side — or at least back home. That, or if I'd at least done my damn job and killed Vic, she could have at least died a lot more peacefully." He met her gaze for a moment. "That's what I'm thinking. So with all that in mind — how do _you_ think I am?"

She watched him for a moment before she took a quick step closer and leaned in, her arms wrapped around him. "Yeah… that's how I thought you were doing." She rested her head on his shoulder and then let out a breath. "So ... there's always the roof? Unless you just want to curl up. Or… be alone. I'd get it if that was the case."

"Not necessary," he said quietly.

She took a step back, watching his expression before she took his hand. "Then roof it is. I could use some fresh air myself," she decided, still half watching him.

"Well you're not gonna get it," he said before he pulled a cigar out of his front pocket, slowly walking along with her. "Rationed."

"Again?" She had to smile when she saw it.

"Hey. It's wartime."

"You're developing a habit of your own," she teased him as she moved to pluck the cigar away, and he made sure to keep it out of her reach. " _You_ should be rationed."

"Helps me relax. Especially since May still hasn't paid up. Your mom's a slacker."

"She's not my mom."

"Close enough to it for how much she hovers and frets over you. Her and Coulson both. Surprised I haven't gotten quizzed on my intentions yet."

"They're good people — they do that with Fitzsimmons too. And half of Tahiti."

"That's good. Half of 'em or better need it."

She smirked his way and slid her arm through his. "Come on, then. I guess I can put up with a _little_ smoke."

They got up to find an empty rooftop, and it took Logan no time at all to take a seat at the edge of the roof with his feet dangling off as he lit the cigar and leaned back to lay down. Thankfully, she didn't try to pull anything else from him on details or anything of the like, and they spent some solid time staring up at the stars or looking out into the darkness.

The cigar burnt out — only about halfway down — and it took Skye a few minutes to realize that the smoke was gone … and another moment or two to realize that Logan had passed out where he was laying — one hand behind his head and the cigar on the roof near his other hand where he'd dropped it.

She frowned for a moment as she watched him and then let out a breath, climbing around to his other side where the cigar wasn't to rest her head on his chest. _Hard to compete with a dead ex-fiance_ , she thought as she curled in.

* * *

 _June 6_

 _In the Capitol_

* * *

Natalie had a busy morning ahead of her, with several reports to file through before noon — but her busy work was interrupted by what should have been a much more _private_ family discrepancy. She was the only one in the room at the moment, and that was the nice part about being a secretary — she was as good as invisible as long as she kept her head down. And that was clearly the case as both Gamora and Ronan rounded the corner, both of them sporting a few new bruises and looking very clearly as if they'd just finished sparring.

They were on Natalie's schedule — a meeting with Thanos — but his last one had run a bit late with Sytsevich, and if the rumbled shouts that occasionally floated through the door were any indication, the president was in a bad mood. The tall, broad Russian thug now working as one of Thanos' personal spies and enforcers found his way out with his focus on the carpet as he left the severe dressing down. Thanos' Sentinels were getting routed by SHIELD and Hydra alike, it seemed, and he didn't like having to fight two fronts now that Hydra had decided the alliance wasn't worth it.

Neither of the royals looked happy about having to wait, but they could also hear Thanos' mood, so they would just have to accommodate the president. Still, Ronan in particular looked as if this was a personal insult, and he decided to take out his frustration on his sister, apparently rekindling an argument as he jumped into a snarl.

"You know nothing of what my forces are doing," he growled out at her. "It's not your place."

Gamora raised her chin at him. "It is my place when _your_ orders take from _my_ forces," she said with a flash of anger in her eyes.

"It's no secret what Thanos plans for you, _favorite child._ Your time is better spent preparing for your next public appearance."

"And yours is better spent doing as you are asked, rather than on these petty plots against _children_ ," she sniffed at him.

"Those children killed our sister, infiltrated the palace, stole my prize, and left me with … _this,_ " he spat as he gestured to his face. "I am well within my boundaries to hunt them down as I see fit."

"It is beneath you," Gamora sniffed. "You petulant child."

"No, dear sister, this kind of _work_ is beneath you."

"You know _nothing_ ," she hissed, spinning to face him better. "You know nothing of what I've _done_ for Thanos, nothing of what I continue to do, while you _play_ with your _toys_."

"But I'm the one that always seems to have the answers that our father wants — much easier to do when I'm the one dragging them from the defectors while you play games with our little sister."

It was then that Natalie had to let them know it was time for their meeting, though she would have been interested to see the argument play out a little longer. The dynamics in the Capitol were growing more strained with the losing war, and of course, Natalie was always on the lookout for any cracks that she could take advantage of.

For example, she could play with the power dynamic a bit if she addressed Ronan ahead of Gamora...

"I'm so sorry, sir. I don't want to interrupt ... it's just that… he's ready for you, sir." She paused. "For the both of you." She kept her gaze down and her hands folded in her lap and pretended not to hear the derisive _huff_ that Gamora let out as the green-skinned woman swept past her desk.

Natalie smirked to herself. For as terrifying as the Capitol could be at times, it was also so enlightening. There were so many personal failings and weaknesses that she knew could bring down any one of the royals.

She only had to wait for the right time.

It was clear that there had been a severe tongue lashing when the doors opened some time later, and Gamora all but stormed from the office, with Ronan smirking in her wake. He stopped at Natalie's desk and watched as Gamora stormed down the halls. "Put out word. There is a reward for finding that insolent victor — or any of his former allies. The better shape they're in — the more the reward."

"Yes, sir. I'll make sure it's a priority message at once," she said quickly, looking determinedly down at her hands as she typed and _knowing_ what kind of smirk he was wearing.

Fury had been right; things were definitely getting more… chaotic. And Natalie was surer every day that the worst-case scenario protocols were just one step away from being used.


	54. Dancing on Eggshells

**Chapter 54: 'Dancing on Eggshells'**

* * *

 _June 10_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Kate was on her way back from the shooting range when she spotted Skye, who didn't seem to have noticed her yet, judging by the deep frown on her face.

"What's up?" Kate asked, taking a few running steps to catch up to her.

Skye looked up quickly and put on a little smile. "Oh, nothing at all. Just … going to run a few new programs … see if I can crack into Ronan's files. For … boredom."

"For trouble, you mean," Kate said as she threw an arm around Skye's shoulders. "We could go to the shooting range, get you some blue targets."

"I'd feel better doing it my way, I think," she said. "No offense."

"Suit yourself," Kate said with an easy shrug. "But you and I both know it isn't Ronan on your brain. Seriously. What's up?"

"What?" Skye asked, though her cover was terrible, seeing as she had such a tendency to _over_ act in situations like that. "What do you mean? I'm just … hacking. Like I always do. You know. The grind." She let out a nervous little laugh and tried to wave it off. "What else would it be?"

Kate raised an eyebrow at Skye and folded her arms. "Yeah, Skye. What _else_ would it be?"

Skye looked at her over her shoulder and tried to skirt away a little quicker, hugging her laptop. "I don't know, Crazy Hawk. You tell me."

"So, are you two, what, having a fight? Should I hit him or something?" Kate asked, and when Skye looked surprised, she rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Skye. Hawk. Eye."

"He's just … depressed or something close to it — I don't know."

"Yeah, I have noticed he's been quieter than usual," Kate said. She let out a breath. "I guess he took the whole thing hard."

"No kidding," she said in almost a grumble. "What else have you spotted, Hawkeye?"

Kate grinned and threw her arm back around Skye's shoulders. "Just one overworked girl right now," she said. "And don't think I don't know about the rooftops rendezvous, because I do. I know things, Skye. For the record, he's always less grumpy afterward too. If it helps."

"That's because he takes a nap," she deadpanned.

" _With you_." Kate shook her head. "That's the important part."

"Sure, if you say so," Skye replied. "It's just… okay. So maybe, _maybe,_ I don't need to hack into Ronan's, but … the bigger the hack, the better I feel, okay? It's relaxing."

"I can get that," Kate nodded thoughtfully. "The more spectacular trick shots do the same thing for me." She looked Skye up and down for a moment and then nodded decisively. "You know ... I might know where there's a stash of rationed chocolate. Want some to munch on while you work?"

Skye looked as if she'd been insulted before she shoved Kate back a step. "You've been holding out on me?"

Kate laughed outright. "You have no poker face, Skye! Gotta keep the important secrets!" she teased.

"Well, maybe I'd play more if my partner wasn't such a grump lately."

Kate bumped Skye's shoulder with hers. "Hey, hang in there. He'll bounce back. He's just stupid sometimes. But we love him anyway."

"Alright, you get the goodies; I'm going to hijack Stark's new processor. I won't get into the good stuff until you get back."

"Good." Kate gave Skye a double thumbs up and scooted off to go find her secret stash — and to leave Skye to her setup.

* * *

 _June 16_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Almost all of Tahiti was gathered in the living room, and while Charles hadn't actually _said_ why he wanted to see everyone, those who were paying attention to what was going on the other side — or who had overheard _anything_ Susan Bishop said when she came to visit her sister — had a pretty good idea.

It had gotten to the point that even those without hawk-eyes could see that Moira was showing, so they doubted it was just that simple of an announcement, and Wade was already elbow-deep in bets as to both the gender and names.

"Don't you have an unfair advantage?" Cassie teased in a whisper over Wade's shoulder. "You and your sneak peeks?"

"Not for this one; this is all new special edition … don't know a thing about it other than it's _special…_ and hasn't happened really in _any_ universe. Not like _this_."

Cassie giggled and kissed his cheek. "Alright, alright, I believe you. Just making sure you don't take them all for suckers … without me," she teased.

Wade closed out the betting just before Charles arrived, looking perfectly _pleased_ as he glanced around at the kids who had gathered there — and Moira wasn't far behind him, just beaming.

"What's the word?" Clint called out with a crooked grin Charles' way. "Come on — we all know… and we know you know.'

Charles couldn't stop the smile at that and simply nodded. "I doubt anything stays secret here for long," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "But we thought it might be nice if, for a change, we told you about our happy news ourselves."

"I cannae tell ye much, other than it's a wee laddie we're looking forward to," Moira said with a proud smile. "And I'll nae have ye placin' any bets on anythin' but 'is hair." She gave Wade a stern look that screamed she meant business.

"Do you have any names picked out?" Steve asked as Wade drew a halo around his head.

"Not yet," she said, giving him a kinder look.

"When are you due? Do you know yet?" Jan asked excitedly, her hands clasped underneath her chin.

"Aye," Moira laughed with the tiniest of blushes across her cheekbones. "Top of October."

"That's so _exciting_ ," Cassie gushed — and she very quickly became the first of the kids to rush over and throw her arms around Charles for a hug, though Jan wasn't far behind to simply wrap Moira up in a _huge_ hug.

"Bout time one of us had a _real_ happy ending," Quill said, not far behind Cassie to give Charles a huge hug that lifted the older victor off his feet. When he set Charles back down, he was still grinning. "That kid'll be smarter than just about everyone in this room by, like, age three."

"Age two and a half," Kate corrected as she darted in to hug Charles and then Moira. "Susie's been over the moon excited," she told Moira.

"Of course she is," Moira said. "Th' poor lass is all alone, no other wee ones to play with."

"Well, Josh is pretty attached too," Scott pointed out on her other side. "But he's five — not quite the same, I guess."

"No, not quite," Moira said as she rested a hand on his arm.

Kate grinned over at Scott and then at Moira. "Ready-made babysitting volunteer, right there," she teased Moira at a volume she knew Scott could hear.

But to her surprise, he just shrugged. "Hey, that I do know how to do. Plenty of practice."

"We'll just have to wait to show you the magic trick," Peter said. "It's … amazing."

Kate looked at Peter for a moment before her eyes widened with understanding, and she started to laugh and nod along. "Oh yeah," she giggled. "That is just… _spectacular_. Works on Katie every time, too."

"Looks like you're never gonna be short on volunteers to watch the little guy if you need privacy," Quill chuckled low to Charles.

"Aye, we'll just need to have Kate volunteer more of 'em," Moira pointed out.

"Hey," Kate said. " _I_ have an adorable niece all to myself. I know the babysitters to choose from here. They are Katie-and-Kate-vetted."

"Right," Scott said, shaking his head at her.

"You're just jealous you can't do Logan's magic trick, Scotty boy," she shot his way.

He held up both hands. "Yeah, no — keep me out of that one."

"Hey, maybe he can _learn_ the magic trick," Peter suggested.

"What, and listen to Logan?" Kate teased right back. "Never."

"Awww, you're ruining the magic of it," Peter whispered.

Kate just grinned his way and reached over to ruffle his hair before she flounced off happily to go mess with Clint — who looked like he needed the messing all off on his own.

* * *

 _June 25_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

The end of June saw a whole rush of birthdays. Wade was turning nineteen, Cassie sixteen, and Scott seventeen, all in the space of a little over a week. And since Cassie's was smack dab in between the boys', that was the day they decided to throw one big party for all three of them.

Of course, it wasn't much, since it was wartime, but Aunt May somehow got the ingredients for a cake, and they got special permission for just about everyone on the other side to come to Tahiti. All the Hudsons, plus the stylists… it was a full house, and with so many people in one place, of course it wasn't long before somehow Jubilee and Noh set up some music — and then it _really_ turned into a party.

"Come on," Jubilee said, already pulling on Scott's hand. "You have two choices, birthday boy. One of them is to dance with me — which I highly suggest you do that thing. Right now. Before I enact the second option."

Scott let her pull him out into a dance, though he had to ask, "And the second option is…?"

"Wasabi No-Ginger had volunteered to help spank you with Noh."

"He did not," Scott said, shaking his head.

"He so did," Jubilee replied with a wide grin. "America was on board to drag you to the middle of the dance floor. Look at her, Scott. Look at the disappointment and tell me I'm lying."

Scott glanced to where America was standing with one hand around GoGo's waist and the other on her hip, somehow both flirting and looking thoroughly annoyed at the same time.

"Toldja," she whispered with a giggle.

He shook his head at her and couldn't help but smirk. "Isn't your fiance going to be jealous?" he had to tease. "I heard about the engagement, by the way. Congrats."

"Oh, please," she said with a little wave before she popped up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "He knows not to worry about me. But you … You have a lovely young lady who I approve of wholeheartedly."

Scott broke into an actual grin at that and shrugged lightly. "So you heard about that, huh?"

She pulled him into a spin that swept around the room as she nodded at him. "Oh yeah. I have a little bird that fills me in regularly."

"Which one?" he asked, still with a little grin.

"I will not reveal my sources," she replied. She started to laugh earnestly as they moved closer and closer to the center of the floor, where Scott was surprised by a familiar laugh when Noh swept in with Clara all but lifted entirely off the ground. "Ooh, look at that, how lucky!"

"Yeah, what a coincidence," Scott said dryly, though with an ill-hidden smirk.

"Care to trade with me, Clara?" Jubilee asked, waggling one eyebrow at her.

"I think I can do this one myself, thanks, Jubes," Scott said, shaking his head as he took a step back and instead offered his hand to Clara as Noh finally set her down.

"Lovely. Then I shall be off with my Jubilee," Noh said with a light laugh as he swept Jubilee up into an elegant and elaborate spin.

Scott and Clara really didn't have much to say, seeing as they spent all of their free time together anyhow — at least the time that Scott wasn't with the Hudsons, and even then, she seemed to be with him more often than not. But he grinned at her all the same, leading her through the very basic waltz steps that he knew how to do.

"Why aren't you out there dancing?" Heather asked Skye as she came up behind her, obviously watching Scott and Clara.

"Oh." Skye stood up a little straighter and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I will be, I'm sure. I just… not right now."

"I'm sure," she said with a little laugh. "Have you even danced with him yet? Ever?"

Skye had to smile at that. "Well… no, actually. We never… I mean, the only time he was dancing was in the Capitol, and we definitely weren't… I mean, not in the public eye, you know?"

"Why not?" she asked, honestly confused as to why there would be an issue.

Skye blinked at her. "Because… come on, Heather. You saw the TV spots. The footage."

"That wouldn't have applied to you though, right? I mean … you were _from_ the Capitol. You were in SHIELD. Come on."

"They were willing to come after stylists, escorts… of _course_ it applied to me," Skye muttered. "The Capitol has had it out for him in particular since day one, and it just… doesn't _stop_."

"Of course it stops," Heather said. "That … Agent Coulson said it was over. That first night everyone started coming in from the big … victory mess."

Skye scrubbed a hand over her face and then let out all her breath. "I know. And that's true most of the time. It's just that…" She glanced Heather's way and bit her lip. "You might not have heard — I don't know if the news has reached the main part of the base — but Silver Fox is dead."

Heather looked surprised to hear it and automatically searched the room with her gaze for both Mac and Logan. "When did that happen?"

"Beginning of the month," Skye said. "It hit Logan hard," she added, this time a little more subdued. "I mean… really hard."

"That doesn't make sense," Heather said, shaking her head. "He never acted like she was even a concern when he found out she was alive."

Skye frowned and leaned a little closer to Heather. "It's just that… it was Creed who did it. And he's… upset about it."

"You must be reading him wrong," Heather said, almost blowing off the idea.

Skye gave her a _look_. "I am not. He's all… mopey and depressed."

Heather looked over to where Logan was doing his best to keep out of everyone's way — which was apparently a trick when such a good number of kids in the program were sure to try and keep him close. "Okay. Is he making a point to be alone _all_ the time?" Heather asked.

"No, just… he's not a big fan of crowds," Skye said.

"He's fine then," Heather said. "Mostly. Something is wrong, but I don't think it's what you think it is."

Skye halfway held her breath before she let it out in a rush. "I hope you're right. He's just… down," she admitted.

"Depressed on him is _ugly_ ," Heather said. "He disappears for weeks at a time, does his best to drink himself to death …picks fights with _crowds_ of guys four times his size ... no. That … I'm not sure what that is, but it's not depressed."

Skye shifted her weight from one foot to the other and then glanced at Heather. "I think he's… regretting … something. He's upset that he didn't kill Creed, and now he's just caught up in it, and all I can think is that maybe he just _misses_ her and…" She took a deep breath. "He's just … I don't even know."

"Is he pushing you away or telling you to leave him alone?" Heather asked. "Because if he's not — that's not it."

"Then I don't know what it is," Skye said, though she couldn't help but look relieved. "It can't be because he's taken Fox's spot at the top of Ronan's list, because he doesn't care about Ronan. And it's not like he's upset Kurt's not on the team, because he didn't think it'd work…"

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Heather asked.

"Kurt was on Logan's team for a hot minute?"

"No no, before that," Heather said, concentrating far too hard on her.

Skye paused. "Ooh. Right. Um. It's one of those things that _sounds_ really bad…"

"What do you mean he took Fox's spot?" Heather's voice was on the edge of a near panic.

Skye let out all her breath in a rush. "Ronan… is vindictive. And he wanted Fox dead — now she is. Now, his attention is on Logan," she said, because she had learned by now that honesty was the best policy with Heather.

"What did Fox do that ... " She swallowed and shook her head. "She didn't do anything so stupid as putting scars across the man's face that he has to look at every day, so it had to have been bad. What the heck does that mean for Logan?"

"It means Logan's name, his face — he's got a bounty on him."

"He's in huge trouble," Heather said, hands on her hips.

"He… kind of is." Skye shook her head. "So... this would probably be a bad time to tell you that the new second-in-command at Hydra wants him too?" she asked, one eye closed in a wince.

"Just … tell me they're not sending him out into the middle of all the trouble with all this going on."

"He's doing much less than usual," she promised. "Everyone is. We're just kind of … laying low."

"No, honey, laying low would be not going out at all," Heather pointed out. "Not cutting back."

"There is a war on," Skye pointed out softly. "It's not just going to stop because the guys in charge are particularly more stupid than usual. But I swear, his schedule isn't nearly so heavy anymore. He's even going on the lighter missions with the rest of the Tahiti kids more often."

Heather shook her head with her eyes closed for a moment. "So his schedule isn't as heavy — but he's going on _more_ light missions? What?"

"It just means he's playing it safe. Or ... Fury's making him play it safe," Skye promised.

"And how long do you think that's going to work?" Heather asked. "Come on; I gotta talk to Mac, and you're long overdue for dance."

Skye held up her hands. "Woah, wait—"

"For what?" Heather asked.

"I just… you can't go from 'Logan's in trouble' to 'time to dance.' You're gonna give me whiplash."

Heather let out a little laugh. "That's because the dancing is for you and the talk is for me. Besides, I know you two have been sharing a bed … you'd think a girl would want to dance with her guy _first._ "

"That … is _not_ up for discussion," Skye said before she let out her breath and had to shake her head — but allowed Heather to lead her over to where Logan and Mac were.

"You," Heather said, pointing a finger Logan's way. "Have failed in your duties. Take her for a dance or three while the grown-ups talk."

"There's an old lady joke in there somewhere, but I'm too lazy to go lookin' for it," Logan deadpanned as Mac tried valiantly to hide the laugh.

Skye didn't bother hiding her laugh, though, as she took Logan's offered arm. "I've been informed this is happening," she told him.

"We both were," he agreed with a crooked smirk. "Not sure how we get through the day without the step-by-step instructions." He pulled her closer and took a moment to give her a little smile. "Of course, you can say 'no'."

"Not likely," she shot back with a little smile. "I actually wanted to do this back in the Capitol…"

He tipped his head to the side and simply took her out for a proper dance, falling right into it without missing a step. She couldn't quite help but grin as she followed his lead. "I didn't know you _danced_. I mean, I knew you danced, but not _danced_."

"They teach everyone a really crappy, half-assed … sway in the Capitol. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch Rhodey for five minutes," he replied. "My parents — the real ones. Not Heather with a vendetta — made sure I could dance young. Appearances."

"Well, color me impressed," Skye said with a grin.

"Easily impressed," he shot right back.

"I'll have to raise my standards, clearly. Keep up with you," she teased.

"Ha, well. Tell yourself whatever works," he replied with a little smirk. "All just because I don't trip over my own feet."

"Well, as you keep telling people, I am dating a drunk lumberjack," she couldn't help but tease.

"That was _your_ psych write up on me, right?"

"I … was part of that team, yeah," she admitted, flushing slightly.

"That's a yes," he said with a crooked smile.

"Which… which just makes you all the more impressive," she decided, still flushed. "Seeing as I was very wrong in like, half my first impressions."

"Yeah? What else did your first impressions say?"

She flushed even deeper. "Well, I… kinda discounted you as the big, dumb type. _I did say I was wrong_ ," she added in a quick rush.

"No, I'd agree with that one," he said, nodding seriously as he shifted their stance and pulled her a little closer.

"Oh, yeah. Says the guy who learned Japanese and hacking in the space of a few months."

"What else did I have to do?" he asked. "I was already warned off of anything 'outdoorsy'."

"Yeah, like hunting," she teased.

"I meant the first time. Second time, a lot of those restrictions were off," he corrected her.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't know. I only really met you during the tour," she pointed out.

"Then I should probably apologize."

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "That… first of all, I was _working_ then, and second off, no ... you... well... totally saved me from looking like a doofus in front of Ward so he could be even more annoying."

"Then I guess that's one thing I got right," he replied before he glanced over to where Heather and Mac had their heads together, whispering quietly. "Figured it probably fell into the 'totally wasted, screw anyone that tells me I have to do something' side of life."

"No, I didn't get that side, thankfully," she said.

He let out a little sigh and shook his head. "I've been rotten company lately."

"It's fine," she assured him quickly.

"No," he argued. "You can smack me one if you need to catch my attention."

She laughed. "I'd like to think I can get your attention without hitting you," she teased before she leaned forward and kissed him. "But… I appreciate it."

"You sure about that? You can tell me to come in to bed a couple hours after you pass out if you change your mind about the hitting thing."

She flushed pink at that and lightly hit his shoulder. "Not fair. I can't control that."

"I think you can," he teased. "That's purposeful."

"It is _not_ ," she insisted. "And for your information, I haven't beaten you up for…."

"Since the last time I came in after you were asleep."

"That's just…"

"That's what does it."

"You know it's not on purpose," she said, shaking her head at him.

"I know, and it's my own stupid fault for not just going to my own room."

She put her finger in the center of his chest. "Oh no. You do that kind of thing, and I'll purposefully hit you, mister," she teased.

"Just have to see how it goes next time," he said before he gave her a quick kiss. "Looks like we're getting hailed. Mac is a little … irritated."

"Oh, that's… my fault," she told him in a low whisper. "I might have accidentally let slip to Heather about… everything."

"Better they know," he said with a nod. "Hard for them to get broadsided if something goes wrong and they know."

"Yeah, well, I doubt they're happy about it. Just warning you," Skye said as she kissed his cheek.

"I'd ask if you want to deal with the redhead, but I'm sure she's already decided how that's gonna go." He tried for a little smile. "Mac has been warning me since I won to keep a low profile."

"And how'd that work out for you?"

"Trouble seems to find me," he replied. "I swear half the crap that happened in the Capitol …"

"It really, really does," she had to agree as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'll try to play shield for you if you need it," she added in a teasing whisper.

"Nah, I think I can handle my own cousin," he said as they headed toward the Hudsons, and it was clear that Mac's game face had totally cracked. He didn't even try to cover for it either as he grabbed Logan's arm just above the elbow and dragged him off to a quiet corner to start all but hissing at him in low tones.

Skye winced and shook her head as she stood next to Heather. "Your husband is actually scary sometimes," she teased.

"Hard to tell watching Logan," Heather said. "Look. He looks like he's listening to a story about the kids."

"He has the most advanced poker face the world has ever known," Skye agreed.

Heather laughed lightly as she agreed, then turned to Skye. "If you have _any_ sway …"

"I do what I can," Skye promised. "But you know how he is. Sometimes, I just _keep up._ "

"You know, I really thought that there would be a ceiling on this kind of thing? But it seems like no matter how big the pond is? He's at the top of the trouble heap."

"I think he likes it there," Skye admitted in a whisper.

"He does seem to do better under pressure," she agreed.

Skye chuckled and shook her head. "Don't worry about him, really. Go worry about your kids — or Scott's birthday or something. You've got happy things to spend your time on."

She smiled to herself and then turned to pull Skye into a hug. "You're a good girl, you know that? I'm really glad the two of you finally got it together."

Skye was surprised for only a moment before she returned the embrace. "You're really sweet," she whispered before she took a step back and smiled, slipping back into the party.


	55. Protocols and Press

**Chapter 55: Protocols and Press**

* * *

 _June 26_

 _Fury's Office_

* * *

Hydra had been upping their game when it came to press releases and public spots, desperately trying to gain a little bit of public favor after having lost so much of it with the spot that had aired with Scott.

Seeing as they'd lost their best sympathetic figure in Silver Fox's death, they were grasping at straws on who to use within their ranks — or who to use against SHIELD when vying for the popularity that they so desperately needed. But instead of trying to shore themselves up, they apparently decided that their best course of action was to tear down SHIELD. Point out that it was _SHIELD,_ not Hydra, that had put these kids on the line in the first place, then pitted them against each other in a fight to the death. It was SHIELD working _with_ the Capitol, bending to Thanos' will and all of the tyranny that had come with that regime.

So it was with that hanging over their heads that Fury decided to show — or try to show — that in spite of all the misery and hardships that the Tahiti kids had faced … they still were willing to work with and fight with the victors.

Team Awesome was still a very big draw for most of the public. They were highly popular, but one angle that had not been explored, even within SHIELD, was the definitely broken alliance between Logan and Steve Rogers.

It was a testament to how well they'd worked together both against the ULTRON robot and their time hunting Cletus as a duo that needed to be tapped into — and how vicious the editing had been of their last fight that had the residents of District Five in particular so torn as to which side to ally with. Rogers had been that well loved — and up to this point, he hadn't been revealed as a Tahiti member. Putting him on the screen would give them a huge boost in that district.

So, in preparation of that, Fury had requested that Skye pull up the old footage — the full, uncut version of both the Creed tape that Logan watched in the cooler and the fight between Logan and Steve to clear the air on what had actually gone down ahead of an interview with the three of them.

As a result, Skye was busy at work, trying to make sure that any edits done to the footage she had were simply to change camera angles within the cooler as the audio played uninterrupted. Which meant she had to listen to the whole horrible ordeal over and over to make sure that the full impact was achieved without letting the audio skip or lapse strangely.

So she was totally engrossed in her work, fully concentrating, with her earbuds in, when Logan came in from training. She didn't even see him, and he couldn't help but see how close he could get before she startled or simply looked up. He just wasn't expecting her to all but jump out of her skin when he touched her shoulder.

" _Don't scare me like that!_ " she hissed, hastily trying to stop the playback and rearrange her laptop. "You shouldn't go sneaking up on me when I'm working."

He frowned at her and took a seat on her bed instead of pulling out a chair. "You've never jumped like that before when you were working," Logan pointed out. "So what is it that you're working on that's got you up in arms?"

"Fury's assignment," she said, seeing no point in trying to hide too much. He was going to know she had seen it anyhow. "I have to … prep the tapes for showing the public. The unedited message you got from Victor _Creep_ and the unedited fight. Got some brand new fancy warnings to air ahead of both of them that gives parents time to clear the kids out of the room first too." She twirled her finger in the air, and her tone turned dismal. "Yay."

He sneered and stretched out on his side. "Want me to leave?" he asked. "Might make it easier to finish the damn thing if I'm not here."

"Actually," she admitted, "it … might be easier to have you around. You know. So I'm not listening to the creepiest monologue of all time over… and over… by myself." She shuddered.

"You gonna have a problem if I crash — since I'm not very useful otherwise?"

Skye waved a hand at him. "Go right ahead. Just don't _scare_ me."

"I won't hit you if you come over here after I'm asleep," he teased as he stripped off what wasn't necessary.

She rolled her eyes his way, but paused to watch him as he climbed back into bed and got comfortable. "I really wasn't worried."

"Don't mind me while I Illustrate how sleepin's supposed to be done."

"Ha ha. You're hilarious." She fixed her headphones back on. "Just warn me before you, like, _move_ or something."

"Not going anywhere," he promised before he did exactly as he'd planned and started to drift off.

It was much later when Skye finally climbed in beside him, tired out but finally _finished_ and definitely glad that this time around, unlike the first time she'd found the unedited tape, she wasn't by herself. Even if she had stupidly stayed up to the witching hour with that same crap.

"I really gotta stop doing that," she muttered to herself as she pulled the covers up to her shoulders and snuggled in with her space heater.

He barely opened his eyes before he pulled her in a little closer and kissed her forehead. "And talkin' to yourself too."

She tucked in that much tighter to him and pulled his arms around her until she felt properly secure and smirked into his chest. "That too."

* * *

 _June 28_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

"So, you got sent to the principal's office too? _Shameful_ , Steven," Kate teased, bumping Steve's shoulder with hers when she met him clearly on his way to Fury's office as well. They were supposed to be doing some kind of interview, which she _knew_ , but she couldn't resist poking at him all the same.

"I'm pretty sure that's not what this is about, though Coulson wasn't more forthcoming than that," Steve replied with a little smile.

She grinned wider at him and whispered out "You're in tro-uble" to him as she pushed open the door with just her hip.

"So are you, Hawk—" Steve stopped mid sentence when he saw Logan and Fury talking. "We can come back."

"You're right on time," Fury told him as he and Logan parted ways. "The _three_ of you will be interviewing with Trish today. You've seen the unedited footage, haven't you Rogers?"

Steve glanced at Logan for a moment before he straightened up almost unconsciously and nodded. "Yesterday morning."

"Is there any leftover ill will?" Fury asked, watching him carefully.

But Steve was quick to shake his head. "No, sir."

"That's all we're outlining then," Fury said before he gestured for the three of them to take a seat.

Kate dropped happily into the seat between the two boys, though Steve shot a sideways glance Logan's way, still with a frown in place. "And on your end?" he had to ask when it was clear Fury wasn't going to ask it.

"Far as I'm concerned, it's over with," Logan said evenly. "I got better things to do."

Steve almost smirked as he nodded. "Better things than to worry over the lies we were told," he agreed. He reached across the space to offer his hand. "We square?"

"Have been for a while, Cap," Logan replied with a smirk of his own before the two shook hands. "Lookin' forward to workin' with you — if you can go along with it."

Kate giggled between the two of them. "Awww. They've come so far," she said in an exaggerated tone with her gaze locked on Fury just to be a pain.

"You should be ashamed," Logan said to her. "It's your fault we were fighting to begin with."

Kate turned to him and stuck out her tongue. "Careful, Logan, that's how rumors start. Don't want people hearing you were _fighting_ over _me_."

"Oh, I _absolutely_ was," he shot back, just to rile her.

She squared up her shoulders and looked imperious. "Ooh, wait until my boyfriend hears about this. You're going down."

"Careful, or I'll have to kiss you on camera."

She looked downright shocked and put both hands between them to playfully shove him further away. "I _will_ get a restraining order," she promised.

"Do they do this all the time, or are they just warming up for our spot on 'togetherness'?" Trish asked as she stepped in with Skye.

"They do it all the time," Skye answered with an amused expression on her face. "They're goons."

"Skye, your boyfriend keeps hitting on me," Kate sang out with all the force of a tattle-tale Kindergartener.

"That is not hitting on you," Skye called back.

"She wants me to hit on her, sweetheart," Logan chuckled just for the look on Kate's face.

"No, but it's the reason the Capitol thought you two were a thing," Steve pointed out with a hand on Kate's shoulder. "Maybe dial it back a little if you hate the rumors that much."

"Doesn't matter if we were at each other's throats," Logan told him. "If they want to believe it, they'll believe it. As it is, I've only ever treated her like the irritating little sister that she is."

She beamed at him and socked him in the arm. "Just the way I was made," she agreed.

"Irritating? Yes."

"You love me anyway."

"Only because Kurt dragged you along," Logan teased.

"Hey!" She drew herself up taller and stuck a finger in his face. "Let's stick to the facts here. This _is_ an official interview, and I'll have you know _I_ invited _him_. We can review the tapes."

"And he invited me. You didn't even like me."

She waved him off. "Early days."

Trish was grinning as she set up and glanced over at Skye. "This is going to be the easiest interview I've done in ages. Do I even _need_ to ask questions?" she laughed as the lights came up.

"Might be a good idea to at least try to direct traffic before they go off roading," Skye suggested. "Ready whenever you are, though."

Trish nodded. "Alright let's get this thing started," she agreed. She double-checked her equipment one last time before she looked toward the three interviewees. "Well, first thing's first," she said in a slightly more business-like tone. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Steve Rogers. It's just a shame we haven't gotten to meet you yet — not since the Games. And since we've already seen Kate and Logan up and around, it's only fair to just say: Hello. We missed you."

Steve awkwardly waved one hand with a sheepish smile. "It's a lot better than the alternative," he had to agree, though he glanced over to Kate and Logan, who were both suddenly very quiet — more than happy to give him the spotlight as Trish reintroduced him to Marvel.

She gave a quick sort of overview of what most of Marvel already knew, covering the basics as well as a few questions about what he had been doing since his revival — what he liked to do in his free time, that sort of thing. Then, with a deep sort of sigh, she seemed to rearrange herself. "Now — by now, all of Marvel knows the _truth_ about what happened in your Games, what really happened between the three of you. But maybe you can help us understand a little better — what drove you to be the final ones left standing in your Games." She watched the three of them with a more serious expression. "All three of you, I'm sure, felt you were perfectly in the right going into those final hours.

The three of them shared a glance with each other and shook their heads as silence filled the office for a moment. "Maybe you're confused," Logan said. "None of us wanted to be there to begin with."

"No, I know that," Trish said, raising both hands as she shook her head. "Maybe I'm not being clear. There's just so much to unpack. We've all seen the _unedited_ footage now, and honestly, I don't think anyone can imagine how _they_ would have reacted to what you were all put through. I just want to know your views about those last hours of the Games. Not what Tivan made up in his interview. What was _really_ going through your heads?"

Logan and Steve shared a look before both of them settled on Kate. She glanced over her shoulder both ways and then just let out a breath. "I just… wanted to be done," she offered.

"Same," Steve said. "Honestly. I just wanted out." He still had that horribly apologetic look on his face that he wore every time the subject was breached and he was anywhere near Kate.

"I'm sure it looked … different from the outside," Kate said, glancing at Steve. "After we woke up, they showed us the footage. And I'm telling you ... scrappy little fighter I was not. I was scared out of my mind."

"Yeah, we all were," Steve said with a little nod.

"All of you?" Trish asked with one arched eyebrow Logan's way.

"No," Logan said, shaking his head. "I was just pissed off."

"With good reason," Trish said, and she allowed herself a little shudder. "We've seen the tape your mentor sent you." She paused. "The _unedited_ tape."

"I got to see it after they brought me back," Kate said after a long silence, her voice quieter than before. "And the unedited tape of what happened to Kurt." She glanced at Steve. "They… made it a point to make sure we knew what _really_ happened. So the Games wouldn't keep those wounds open."

"And that's why your first instinct was to help Logan, not fight him, when you saw him again," Trish supplied with a little smile, and Kate nodded.

"We were all watching out for him when we could," Steve added. "Long before our group got outed on national television." That at least got Logan to look Steve's way instead of trying to ignore the fact that he was on camera again. "What, did you think the kids on Team Awesome were the _only ones_ watching your back?"

"Never thought about it, to be honest," Logan replied.

Kate nodded fervently. "Steve and me and Kurt and — well, everybody really. We all kept an eye on what was happening out in the world." She knocked Steve in the shoulder. "Actually, Steve's saved my life on more than one occasion."

"It's an entirely mutual arrangement," Steve said without hesitating.

"Then the two of you get along," Trish said. "Even after everything that happened?"

"Oh, I hit him in the jaw when I first came back," Kate said with a crooked grin. "He got better."

"She's got a mean right hook," Steve agreed with a little smirk.

"And my boyfriend hit him too. You know, the dashing swordsman?" Kate's eyes were twinkling. "But we got it out of our systems. Steve's actually a giant adorable marshmallow, aren't you, Steve?"

"I'm not," he defended, arms crossed, but there really wasn't much power to his defense.

"And Logan?" Trish turned toward the quieter interviewee. "You don't hold any grudges?"

"Not with him," Logan replied. "Or any of the others here."

"Yeah, save that for the real creeps like Creed," Kate said, her tone shifting to one with a little more malice.

Steve nodded and glanced Logan's way. "You gotta know when to admit you're wrong. And I was — in that last fight. I thought I knew who the real enemy was." He tipped his head to the side and then looked back to Trish. "That's on the Capitol. On Creed. On me, even. But we're just letting the Games win if we keep perpetuating their lies and the divisions they tried to put between us."

That was it, really — that was the sound bite that Trish could use for the shorter spot, and Skye could edit the rest. So, she wrapped up the interview and turned off her cameras, smiling warmly at Steve before she turned Logan's way with a full-body sigh. "Really?" she said, one eyebrow raised.

"What?" Logan asked, hands open and honestly at a loss as to what had Trish tweaked. "I thought this was about Steve."

"I come in and it's _perfect_ camaraderie. The camera turns on, and suddenly, it's two nice kids and Death Glare." She shook her head at him. "Really."

"I don't know what to tell you, lady," Logan said with a shake of his head.

"You're just lucky your two friends can actually manage 'friendly' on camera," she said, shaking her head. "I _know_ you're not as grumpy as you come across on camera. I've _seen_ it." With that, she just gathered up her things to leave, still shaking her head to herself.

Logan let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He honestly had no idea why he'd gotten so quiet suddenly, but whatever it was — it was sticking.

"It's okay. Everyone gets stage fright," Kate teased him, kicking him with the side of her foot with a crooked, teasing grin.

"Stage fright? Is that the best you can come up with? You're _hilarious_ , Little Hawk," he said dryly.

"Yes. Yes, I am," she agreed with a huge smile.

"Since you're all gathered up and cover all the angles we need, why don't the three of you try out a mission together?" Fury said as he brought three brand new folders with mission intel to them. "We can send you in with Fitz's little drones — maybe get some good angles of the three of you working together."

"Where to?" Steve asked, already thumbing through the file.

"Outskirts of the Capitol," Fury said. "Logan knows his way around there well enough; you three should be just fine."

"Sounds fun," Kate said, grinning through her own file. "Try and keep up, boys."

"How about you try following his lead," Fury suggested to Kate. "Seeing as last time, he ended up carrying you out anyhow."

"I'm gonna blame that one on you, super spy. No one told us Gamora would be there."

"She wasn't supposed to be," Fury replied. "And you know it."

"And you do too." Kate grinned his way.

"Just go be distracting and try _not_ to ham it up for the cameras."

"You must be confused. _I'm_ not the most dramatic member of my team," she said sweetly.

"Go suit up before I ask Barton to do the job for you," Fury replied without looking her way until the very end of his statement.

With that, the three of them headed out to do just that — suit up and grab a few of Fitz's dwarves for the cameras. It wouldn't be too heavy of a mission anyway — they were playing distraction while, apparently, there was something going on in Three with one of the victors who had been in the wind for a while.

"Do we even _want_ Masters back?" Kate asked as she adjusted her quiver over her shoulder and she and Logan made their way back with Steve.

"Not our call to make," Logan replied flatly.

"Yeah, but Clint had him for a mentor, and he hates the guy. I'm just saying."

"He's not the friendliest, no," Logan agreed. "But if there's a chance he's gonna be an ally, we gotta get him out."

She let out all her breath but shrugged her agreement all the same as she slid into the cockpit.

"I'm not a fan, if I'm bein' honest," Logan said as a means of leveling with her.

"He didn't exactly come across as approachable," Steve said as he slipped into his harness.

"He's only approachable if he wants something from you," Logan told him.

"That seemed to be the case for a lot of people in the Capitol," Steve said.

"Yeah, pretty much all of 'em," Logan said a bit quieter.

"You know. Besides the pretty SHIELD agents," Kate had to tease.

Logan gave her a look, but didn't say much else, obviously falling into his own little pre-mission mind set.

It was actually an easy flight into the Capitol outskirts — relatively speaking — and Kate set them down close to their checkpoint. Mostly, Logan and Steve had to draw the Capitol's attention, and Kate had already found a perch to pick off anyone who actually got close to the very-distracting boys.

"Keep your comm on," Logan said as they left her and she climbed up into her perch. "These are untraceable, and I wanna keep track of you." Both boys gave her a look as she nodded, and with that, Logan and Cap slipped down the hill and toward the outlying parts of the city below. "Stay frosty, Trickshot," Logan said over her comm.

They didn't have far to go before they found a mark. A Sentinel was nearby, likely investigating the plane that they'd taken in. The two of them slowed to a stop and shared a look. "You want this one or …" Logan asked, but Cap just made a gesture for him to go ahead.

When the Sentinel saw the two of them, he paused and Logan did the same, trying to give the guy a chance to call for backup. As soon as he turned his head toward his shoulder, Logan began to walk toward him, and a few moments later, they were fighting in the street.

As they threw their punches, Logan listened for the telltale sound of marching as the platoon was sure to be headed his way. The moment he heard it, he quit wasting time with the Sentinel in front of him and simply shot him before he turned to face the oncoming group and Cap rushed up to join him. They made sure to keep where Kate could see them — it made no sense to duck behind a building where she'd have no point of reference.

"Oh, look. They're all lined up for me," Kate commented dryly.

As the first pair of Sentinels came around the corner, Logan had to pause as both of them dropped in their tracks — an arrow in each of the center of their chests. "Gettin better, Trickshot," Logan rumbled as she nocked another arrow, watching his back from a distance … the better to catch the small group coming up on his flank.

"And you thought I was perfect before," she teased. "I'm positively on fire, and don't you forget it."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Logan laughed in spite of himself as he opened fire, and she waited for her chance to stop the second wave.

It went on like that for a while, and Logan never worried one bit until the arrows stopped flying long before he knew she was out. "Kate?" he called as yet another group came out of the woodworks — they were appearing out of buildings now in waves and closing in on both of them fast.

"Hawkeye!" Steve called over the comms, glancing Logan's way with the same look of concern mirrored back to him.

"This ain't funny, Trickshot — where are you?!" Logan shouted as they started to make their rush.

* * *

Kate felt the grin fill her face as she took shot after shot. There were so many Sentinels that it was easy to stay busy, and Kate hardly had the time to pause between arrows, not with how many guys there were going after her partners.

She heard the group of guys coming up behind her before she saw them, and she had to think fast before the burst of fire just narrowly missed her. She dropped out of sight, rolling as she went, and when she popped back up, she was surprised to see that there were more of them than she had reckoned on. She'd been so focused on Logan and Steve that she had forgotten Rule One — always be aware of your surroundings _first_.

"Oh, you boys picked the wrong girl to mess with," she said with a grim smile, fitting her arrows, though she very nearly paused when she realized… it wasn't Sentinels. It was Nova Corp.

She took down the first three that came toward her easily, but when she reached behind her for another arrow, someone caught her arm, and she spun around, kicking the offending soldier in the ribs and fitting another arrow as she turned. More and more of them seemed to be pouring out of seemingly _nowhere_. They _definitely_ hadn't been there before.

She reached for her comms, but another two Nova Corp were at her side, making a grab for her arms. She tried to fight them off, but then there was another one — and another — and _wow, that's a lot of yellow bucketheads_ , she thought as the Nova Corp kicked her feet out from under her.

There wasn't a thing she could do as they secured her arms behind her back; the guys that were holding her just ... yeah, she couldn't break their without breaking something important to her, and then there would just be another couple of guys.

The Nova Corp guy that approached once she was restrained and more or less powerless had to be higher ranked, the fobs on his uniform putting him at commander, so she gave him an even harder glare and tried to bite his hand when he moved to take her chin in his hand.

He withdrew his hand with almost a little chuckle before he reached to his side and pulled a short blade, the tip of it just under her chin for a moment as she just glared _harder_. "Now, be a good girl and call your friends," he directed with a sneer that she mimicked the second the words were out of his mouth.

"Yeah, that's a big fat no," she shot back, smirking to herself a little when she saw his eyes flash — though that only lasted for a moment as he just leaned in, his blade still just under her chin.

"Call your friends," he said, low and threatening as he started to lower the blade and it snagged the slightest bit at the neck of her uniform. "Or they will hear you scream instead."

* * *

Logan and Steve fought back desperately as they were surrounded, but the Sentinels were too close … and too many. Nova Corps were starting to appear around the corners and down the streets, and the two of them quickly realized that they were in it deep.

The two boys were being pushed farther apart, especially since the Sentinels and Nova Corps knew better than to let them build up a rhythm together. Still, they were doing incredibly well for how outnumbered they were — all the way up until they heard the piercing "Lo-GAN!" that was so familiar it had both of them on edge.

Both of the boys froze for just an instant — chills running down their spines — and just like that, the two of them burst through the line of soldiers, running for all they were worth to try and find Kate.

The first soldier in Logan's way was knocked backward hard as he poured on a little more steam and jumped up to throw _all_ of his weight into the elbow that smashed in his face, and Steve quickly caught on, doing the same wherever he had enough room to do so.

The thicker the soldiers got, the nastier Logan got, switching from simply trying to get them out of his way to killing them barehanded. Palm strikes to one man's nose to drive the bone into his brain, a solid kick to the center of another man's chest, stopping his heart as the breastbone broke loose and pierced it, honest to God just snapping a third man's neck with a wicked twist and a crack … anything he could think of. This was what he was trained for. Innumerable odds. Surrounded by the enemy. And he tapped into every single dirty trick that Ogun had ever taught him and went for a kill with every movement.

Steve was just behind him simply plowing into anyone that got too close — anyone who was dumb enough to think trying to sneak up on them was a good idea. He was still wielding that shield, but a couple years' worth of training was really showing through. He had the angles down now, ricocheting off of one soldier's helmet into the next before he snagged it out of the air and just kept right on, using the edge of it to drive through the Nova Corps armor and cut himself a path.

Logan backed up, bumping into Steve, and for an instant, he checked to make sure that it wasn't Nova Corps before he settled into a position, going back to back with him as they tried to see a way out. "Can you see her?" Logan asked as they continued to work.

Steve glanced around before he spotted her — overlooking a rooftop perch with Nova Corp holding her fast. "There," he said, tipping his head. "Your three o'clock."

Logan glanced that way and nodded before he directed his fury to anyone between them. The first five or six went down hard, but Steve kept a solid watch over Logan's back, following his push until things started to go even further south.

Logan threw a punch, and though he hit one of the soldiers, another grabbed his arm. He didn't think to call for Steve until the men started to pull him into the knot of soldiers, and by then, it was Steve calling out to him — obviously in the same boat.

Logan reached for his comm and managed to hit the panic button there to call for help, but another soldier grabbed that arm, and in an overwhelming rush, they wrestled him to the ground. He had no idea how many of them were piled up on him, but it wasn't long before he couldn't breathe. He couldn't pull his arms from their grip, and he'd never felt more helpless as they held him down and began to tie him up with shackles.

His vision started to go, and the last thing he saw around him was dozens of yellow helmets. He picked up his head as far as he could go, trying to angle himself to throw them off, but with no breath, and so vastly outnumbered, it was a short struggle before he simply blacked out.

And high above the whole thing, her feet no longer touching the ground, Kate could see the Nova Corps dragging off Steve and Logan after both of them were heavily restrained and unconscious. That was when she really started to panic, too — she had just sort of… _assumed_ Steve and Logan would get there and kick these guys' butts, but it just ... hadn't happened.

"Thank you," the commander said her way. "We absolutely couldn't have done it without you."

She stared after her friends for a long moment before she muttered out a belated, "Bite me."

He started to chuckle. "Oh, don't worry," he told her. "You'll be seeing them again very, very soon." He gave a silent signal to the men holding her, and just like that, they started the trek up to the palace as Kate's eyes just got wider and wider on realizing just how much trouble she and the boys were in.


	56. Every Insult and Unanswered Question

**Chapter 56: Every Insult And Unanswered Question**

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Clint was absolutely dead to the world asleep when a _horrible racket_ went off by his head that was so noisy it was already giving him a headache before he had even fully processed that it was a _noise_ that had woken him.

It took him another few seconds to realize that it was the stupid device Fury had given him going off at some awful hour of midnight o'clock or thereabouts, and another few seconds to realize he had to acknowledge the message before it would _stop_. So he was well and truly awake and annoyed by the time he got the sound off.

He stared at the device for a good long moment before it clicked, and then he went right into a frenzy of motion, pulling on clothes and grabbing up his gear as he swore up and down in his head at himself for letting himself think this was a just-in-case scenario.

 _Always, always assume the worst, Barton,_ he thought as he hopped on one foot to pull on his boots. _Especially when it comes to Fury's plans._

He booked it down to the hangar still pulling on his jacket, and he wasn't surprised to see Fury there — though he _was_ surprised by the look on Fury's face, somewhere between anger and concern.

"I'd estimate you have until dawn at the worst, or tomorrow at best," Fury said. "As soon as I know more, I'll have a team scrambled to give you cover to get out."

"I appreciate the gesture; don't think I'll get out, but the thought's nice," Clint said with a shrug and a nod.

"You're not the only one I'm hoping to get out," Fury replied.

"Which one'd they get?" Clint asked as he got to the jet.

"Logan," Fury said. "Rogers, and Bishop."

Clint spun to face Fury. "They got _Kate_?"

Fury nodded. "You wanna bring a rifle along too?"

"Yeah. Definitely." Clint nodded a couple times. "And an extra quiver."

"I doubt she'll be in shape to help your exit if we can get them."

Clint shook his head. "Yeah, it's not for her. I'm gonna stick the whole Nova Corps full of arrows if we can't get her out, you get me?"

"I want all three of them out," Fury agreed. "But I get it. I don't think she'll be the first in line, though."

"No." Clint had to nod his agreement. "Don't worry — if this thing goes well, I'll have the shot long before it's an issue." He shouldered a rifle as he said it.

"Cross your fingers that they can hold out," Fury said as Clint headed to the plane. "Coulson never taught those kids how to handle interrogations."

"You don't know Steve and Kate. They'll be alright."

"Keep that positive attitude," Fury said. "And nail that bastard."

* * *

Natalie was surprised when, in the middle of the night, the call came through on Ronan's personal line. She answered with crisp and practiced professionalism before she heard the Nova Corp commander on the other end: "We have the Wolverine, and two of the reanimated tributes as well."

She had to bite down hard on her lip, but her eyes were wide, and she had to take a breath before she half-whispered out, "I'll tell them right away. They'll be so pleased."

"We'll be at the gates in five."

When the commander cut the connection, Natalie felt her hands go clammy, and she took several seconds to press one to her mouth, close her eyes, and take deep breaths. This was _not_ good. This was _disastrous_. She had to tell Fury.

She dressed quickly and rushed to her office, quickly keying in the alert to Fury as well as the coded phrase for Logan — each of the members of Team X had their own code for exactly this kind of eventuality, but she'd never thought she would have to _use_ it. As soon as that was out, she gathered herself for the task ahead. She'd have to tell Ronan first — he'd made that abundantly clear to her — and then she'd need to know as much as possible so she could make _sure_ Logan and whoever had been caught up with him got out alive.

She hurried down the halls of the palace toward the presidential suite and rapped quickly on the door, hating every moment as she called out, "The Nova Corps has captured Wolverine, sir!"

She waited a moment — the sounds of things moving as he made his way quickly to the door muffled behind the thick, heavy oak. "When?" he asked before he reached the door.

"The call just came in," she replied as he opened the door. "The commander said they would be at the gates in ... two minutes now."

"Take them to my office immediately." He looked overly pleased in general.

"Yes, sir. Of course," she assured him, staring at the ground and focusing on keeping her reaction under control as she felt every second of dread. Natalie would be excited to bring such good news, but Natasha was mortified, unable to stop worrying about _who_ could be in trouble — but she managed a little grin all the same.

"Notify our contacts that we'll have an exclusive in the morning," he said with a little smile as he watched her closely.

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir." She forced the smile a little wider. "They'll be thrilled." She could feel his gaze on her, so she forced a bit of a bounce and a smile. "Oh, this is wonderful, sir."

"It's certainly the kind of news worth waking up for. Notify my father when he shows his face." He flat out grinned before he rushed off to the dungeons to greet his newest playthings.

Natalie paused, torn for a moment between either doing as she was _supposed_ to and going to Thanos' office; running to her desk to fill Fury in; or… going down to the gate. She still didn't know who else had been brought in with Logan.

It was Nova Corp who brought them in, not Ronan's personal lieutenants or Gamora's own little minions. They would come to Thanos first. And seeing as that's where her desk was too — that's where she headed, in a rush, ahead of the Nova Corps' arrival to reach Thanos' office first.

She took a deep breath as she pushed open the door. She didn't have to fake the look of panicked terror that Thanos and his children liked to see on the faces of everyone in their offices, though hers was more sheer terror as to who was coming in and what was ahead as she cleared her throat. "Sir," she said in a shaking, halting voice, "the Nova Corp is at the gates of the palace. They've captured Wolverine, as well as two former tributes, and they're bringing them in now."

Thanos looked up with a slowly growing smile. "Excellent," he replied, looking all kinds of shades of pleased as he nodded to himself. "See that we're not disturbed."

She very quickly nodded, already starting to back out of the office. "Yes, sir." She all but rushed back to her desk, ostensibly to give the orders that the schedules had to be cleared — which she did, but that wasn't her main focus. Her main focus was on sending intel to Fury, and the message was already queued up and waiting for the last two names when the Nova Corps arrived.

The three captives were in varying states of consciousness. Logan was simply _out_ , being dragged along as dead weight, though it looked like Steve was starting to come around, and Kate was fully awake — and totally terrified beyond words. And perhaps most concerning of all — at least to Natalie — was the fact that they all looked like they were in relatively good shape. The defensive wounds of fighting back, yes, but none of them were badly injured beyond bruising and a few shallow cuts — and Natalie knew that only meant Ronan would dod his best to remedy that good health.

As the parade of misery made the way to the large, open double doors, Thanos' voice echoed out from within. "Inform Ronan that he will need to bring his tools up."

Natalie's eyes widened even as she managed to force out the "yes, sir." This… was going to be very bad, she thought even as she called down to Ronan's office to inform him that his presence — and tools — were required in Thanos' office. As soon as the heavy doors closed behind the three captives, Natasha made sure to send her updated message to Fury — with the news that Thanos himself had elected to take part in the questioning.

* * *

Steve's head was throbbing, and his hearing felt fuzzy, like everything was muffled, as he started to drift back into consciousness. It took him a moment to be able to focus enough to identify what the purple fuzzy image was in front of him, but when he was able to see clearly, he very nearly jumped out of his skin — or would have if he'd been able to move.

His heart was hammering in his ears too loudly to hear what was going on for the moment, but the president of Marvel was outright smiling — which Steve had never seen before. And it was honestly unsettling — exactly the way Quill had described it when he'd talked about his time in the Capitol.

Steve could feel his whole mouth go dry, too, as he realized that he was well and truly restrained, arms and legs stuck tight. He watched a pair of Nova Corp snapping the restraints on Logan as well. He heard a small sniffling sound and glanced the opposite direction of Logan to see that Kate was very quietly crying, totally terrified and looking exactly like she had when he'd first met her in the Games.

The Nova Corps finished their work and slipped out of the room, leaving the three of them with Thanos and Ronan, and the president tipped his head to Ronan to get started.

When Logan woke up, it was to a bucket of cold water being thrown on him. He startled at the shock with a gasp and quickly found that he was in deep trouble. His gaze darted around the somewhat familiar lavish office that could only belong to the president. He tried to turn and found that he was shackled at the wrists — the chain at the end of which was over a beam that ran the length of the office. His toes were barely touching the floor if he reached for it.

Across the room from him, on opposite sides of the room, and on a different beam so all three could clearly see each other, Kate and Steve were in a similar position. Steve looked pale, and Kate's eyes were wide in terror as she stared at Logan. He was about to call out to her when someone interrupted his thoughts.

"We've been looking for you." Logan's head whipped toward the familiar voice, and he knew that it was going to be every bit as bad as he could have anticipated. _Ronan._ Of course they'd been dragged straight to him. "Did you really think that you'd be allowed to continue making a fool of the Capitol? Of my father?"

The blue-skinned torturer kept his gaze locked onto Logan as he took a few slow, metered steps closer. "Did you think you'd be allowed to roam free forever after you murdered my sister?" Logan remained silent as he got closer to him. "We have much to discuss. You might want to _answer_ my questions. If I'm happy with your answers, I might just let you die quickly."

"Go to hell," Logan replied with a sneer. But it only got a smile from Ronan.

"You really have no idea how long I've wanted to get my hands on you," Ronan said, obviously tickled. "I will finally see exactly what it takes to break you."

"Good luck with that, Princess."

The two royals looked as if they'd been slapped for an instant before both of them seemed to steel themselves. "You will pay for every insult," Thanos said slowly. "And every unanswered question."

"We'll start with something simple," Ronan agreed. "Where is SHIELD hiding?"

"They're not the ones hiding behind a wall of yellow helmets," Logan shot back. "Real brave. Way to lead from behind. _Cowering_."

The anger was obvious to see in both Ronan and Thanos' eyes, though the other two prisoners were surprised when it was Thanos who simply _hit_ Logan hard enough with the flat of his hand at his side that Kate was sure she could hear something break, and Logan spun from where he was hanging. The president took a step back, still clearly angry, though he motioned for Ronan to step forward as well — an insult and an unanswered question left Logan with what was clearly a broken rib and a deep, gouging cut across his torso.

It continued that way for a while, though it was clear to the other two prisoners that both Ronan and Thanos were more interested in just taking their frustration _out_ on Logan more than they were on getting answers — at least at first.

And every question they directed at him was answered with a snippy, insulting response without fail. But they seemed to figure out pretty quickly that Logan was not going to be cooperative in the least. As long as they were asking him directly anyhow.

So with a cold smile, the two of them turned their sights on the other two restrained occupants of the room with the same ominous warning. "Any insult or unanswered question …" Ronan said as he walked around the two of them with a smirk to make his point clear.

Steve was pale, and tried to keep a stiff upper lip as much as humanly possible in such a situation, but he simply couldn't _answer_ him. Not without totally frying SHIELD — which he was _not_ going to do. And Kate was just… quietly crying, completely terrified and unable to _stop_.

They tried to ask about the base, and when it was clear that the two of them were unable to answer, the royals shared a glance and tried to smoothly shift their questioning to who had been brought back — since, as members of that group, they would know everyone. "Just one name," Thanos told both of them. "One name will bring you some mercy."

"He's full of crap," Logan called out, though Thanos tried hard to ignore the commentary.

"Yeah, I know that, actually," Steve breathed out, earning a small smirk from Logan.

"If not one of your fellow tributes — then perhaps one of the victors that have sided with you. Or your doctors," Ronan said, trying to guide them.

"You want a doctor? How about Essex. He was in it," Logan called out. "He's not talkin', though."

"Is that true?" Ronan asked Kate, and she nodded silently. "Where is he?"

"He was in that place that SHIELD bombed. Sorry ya missed 'im," Logan answered for her, irritating Ronan further. "I know you were on your way to see 'im. At least, that's what Essex said before I killed him."

Thanos' eyes flashed as he pulled Ronan back by the shoulder — away from a relieved-looking Kate — and all but slammed him into a wall to hiss out, "You were so close to the program, and you told me _nothing_ of this?"

"Bet he didn't tell you about how close he is with Viper either, did he?" Logan asked in an almost lazy drawl.

"It was a business transaction," Ronan hissed, glaring angrily Logan's way. "I was told Hydra was willing to part with some former tributes they had captured for a price, that's all." He thrust out his chin. "SHIELD razed the place before I could find out if their claims were true."

"The only ones they had left with me," Logan said. "Wasn't much after Viper poisoned 'em, though."

Ronan waved an impatient hand his way. "We already know of Hydra's treacheries. That is not up for debate — and it has been dealt with."

Thanos glared between Logan and Ronan for a moment before he stepped back from Ronan, paused, and then simply planted his closed fist into Logan's stomach. "Question the girl while this one can't be so bothersome."

Ronan nodded and headed for Kate, though he didn't even try to ask anything before he took a hold of her upper arm and stepped in close to dislocate her shoulder with a quick pop — to start. Next up, as she trembled, shaking her head 'no', he reached up to quickly start breaking every finger in her right hand one by one — still without a word spoken until she gasped out a horribly miserable, "p-please."

Ronan paused to meet her pleading gaze eye to eye and leaned in so that he didn't need to speak any louder than what she alone could hear. "I know you can't answer my questions," he whispered before he smiled cruelly and simply went back to work.

Logan finally started to get his breath back enough to work up to saying something when Thanos turned his way and quietly kept his questions between the two of them, with Kate's sobs clearly doing more to crack Logan than any of the abuse leveled on him so far. "Peter Quill," Thanos said in a low rumble. "Where is he?"

"No idea," Logan gasped, still trying to recover from the hit. "Leave them alone."

Thanos paused with a smirk and watched him for a moment. "Did SHIELD revive him?"

Logan started to shake his head. "Absolutely not," he replied, working his jaw and getting more pissed off as he watched Ronan cup Kate's chin and start to say something else to her that had her trembling and tearfully trying to pull away from him. "Not after marrying who he did."

Thanos' eyes flashed, and in one quick movement, he kicked out, completely shattering Logan's left knee and suddenly, it was Steve's turn to look angry as Logan screamed.

"He answered you," Steve rasped out angrily.

"With an insult," Thanos said through gritted teeth.

"With the _truth_ ," Steve said, shaking in anger and exertion and terror all at once. "It's not his fault the truth insults you."

"And yet there are still many insults he needs to pay for," Thanos said. "We haven't even gotten to how he murdered my daughter."

"I didn't know you cared," Steve said, eyes narrowed.

As Thanos bared down on Steve, Logan got his voice back. "Worth it. Just sorry I let the other one walk."

Thanos paused where he was, still half poised to cream Steve, with one hand full of blonde hair, before he let out a deep growl, shoved Steve's head back, and stalked Logan's way. "Ronan," he barked out, gesturing to Steve with one hand, and as Ronan left the shaking, crying Kate for Steve, Thanos turned the motion into a backhand before he simply grabbed Logan by the neck and dislocated his jaw with his thumb. "I've had enough of your insolent tongue, boy."

For a long moment, Thanos glared down at Logan, who was very clearly in excruciating pain — but now unable to talk back without making it worse — before he turned to where Ronan was not having any success with Steve. Not when Steve seemed to have taken a page out of Logan's book for every question, insisting that Essex headed up the whole program and that Hydra had captured the entire Tahiti group — so why didn't Ronan ask _them_ where they were?

Thanos watched for a moment longer before he rumbled out his next directions. "They're of no further use to us, clearly," he told Ronan, who looked honestly put out for a moment on hearing it. "We will send out the word: for their crimes, they will be put to death on the anniversary of the Reaping Day that should have marked the end of their miserable lives two years ago." He smiled cruelly, looking around the room. "Get them out of my sight — just be sure that their faces are identifiable for the broadcast."

* * *

 _June 30th_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Skye had been monitoring the comms like she always did — even more so because Fitz's dwarves were involved, and she was usually the one calling out angles and such. So when the dwarves were shot down and the comms went dead, she was already concerned.

It only got worse when she hacked into the Capitol frequency to listen to their chatter. So by the time Natasha had sent in her detailed report to Fury on what was going on, Skye was already well caught up on how much trouble her lumberjack boyfriend was in before Coulson even showed up at her door. He looked like he'd come to tell her what was going on — but he paused when he saw the _look_ on her face with this soft sort of apologetic look. And that, more than anything else, was what pushed her over the edge into crying — angry, frustrated crying that she couldn't quite stop even when Coulson rushed over and hugged her.

"We're going in after them," Coulson said as he gave her a tight hug. "We have a protocol. We're going to stick to it."

She nodded into his shoulder for a moment and sniffled. "When are we leaving?"

"Who said you were going?"

She picked her head up. "Coulson, I'm going. I don't _care_ about the protocol. Put me _in_ it," she said in a tone that said she wasn't going to argue the point. "I was trained — _by the best_ — so let me help!"

He started to shake his head, but he stopped and let out a sigh when he saw the determination in her gaze. "Alright. I'll put you with Kurt and Peter."

She nodded at that. "Good. I know they won't stop until they get to them either," she said, not bothering to try to hide the fact that she knew exactly what was going on.

"Let's rally the troops then," Coulson said as he finally loosened up his grip on her arm. "And gear up."

"Way ahead of you, AC," she said with a determined little nod as she rushed off to her room.

He didn't wait to follow in her wake. They'd need everyone. All hands on deck. And they needed them now. Fury had gone to notify the families of the three that they'd be seeing something on television soon and to take it with a grain of salt. So it was his duty to tell the kids.

When he breached the doors to Tahiti, he picked his pace up just a bit more until he got down to the residential areas and simply shouted with his best outdoor voice. "Attention! I need everyone geared up and ready to leave ASAP. Briefing will happen on the way. Bring anything and everything that you are even partway proficient in."

Anyone who was nearby and close enough to see the expression on Coulson's face had a little more get-up-and-go to their rush as the whole of the Tahiti program ran to do just that, though Kurt paused beside Coulson, his eyes wide.

"Has something happened?"

"I'm afraid so," Coulson said with a nod. He clearly already had his mission face on. "But we're going to fix it."

Kurt blinked at him. "It's Kate and Logan, isn't it?"

"Yes," Coulson admitted.

Kurt held his gaze for a moment longer, his heart in his throat as he scanned Coulson's face, before he broke away in a _dash_ to get ready, ready to practically lead the way if need be.

* * *

Scott was grinning to himself as he watched the kids play with Ella. Josh in particular seemed to _adore_ the wolf, and Ella had all but claimed him as her own, always nudging his hand with her nose the second she spotted him.

Ella was good with the kids — all of them. Even little Katie Bishop — just a few months old — was clearly _Ella's._ She would spend long stretches of time just staring at the wolf with wide eyes and a little gummy grin.

On the other hand, Ella wasn't as friendly with some of the adults. Derek Bishop got a growl every time he was in the same room, and with some of the others, it was wariness in general from Ella — though Mac always got an enthusiastic greeting, probably because he spoiled Ella worse than Heather did.

"You love this," Clara said with a grin as she bumped Scott's shoulder with hers.

Scott couldn't help but grin right back at her and nod his agreement. "First birthday in _years_ I've been able to spend… like this," he said, gesturing at his little family. He leaned back, one arm around her shoulders.

Of course, with everyone gathered up like that, it was a matter of convenience for Fury to simply go to the families. Steve's mother had gotten into the habit of sticking close to Margali Wagner and May Parker — who never seemed to be too far from the other Bishop girl and her baby. The fact that Susan Bishop was half in love with the Hudson brood meant that ultimately, he'd only have to go to one place.

"If I could have a word with you all," Fury said in a gentle, soft tone. "I would appreciate the chance to say this once — and get to work."

The group at large looked up at him, almost startled at his presence, since it was incredibly rare to even spot the director, let alone talk to him. Mac gave a little whistle that had the kids quieting down and then turned to the director, looking more serious than his tone was — since the kids were around. "Go ahead."

"We are about to head out on a mission to correct what amounted to an ambush," Fury said. "You're very likely to see some disturbing footage on the news, and I wanted to make sure that you prepare yourselves. We will be doing everything we can to correct this before it's too far gone."

"What kind of news?" Clara asked.

"We had a distraction run yesterday. Three of our operatives went in. The plan was to pull back attention from a victor that had expressed an interest in picking a side, finally, but … that turned out to not be the case." Fury took a breath and met Mac's gaze first. "We were double crossed. They had no idea who we were sending in, but it was meant to be a big enough force to catch anyone, regardless of who had shown up."

Fury glanced around at the gathered families. "As of right now, Logan, Kate, and Steve are captives of the royals." He held up his hands quickly. "Our team is leaving now. I just wanted to make sure you'd heard it from me before it hit the news, where I am sure they will be announcing the time of the execution, which—"

"The _execution_?" Susan asked, almost breathlessly.

Fury let out a sigh and nodded his head. "Which I am trying to prevent. So if you'll excuse me …"

"Any room for more?" Mac asked, already on his feet.

"If you run," Fury replied, already walking away at a brisk pace.

Mac didn't need more prompting than that as he took off. Scott wasn't far behind him, either — moving before he'd even realized he had decided to start moving.

"Hudson, I can give you some armor if you want to follow me," Fury called out, though he looked a little surprised to see Scott there too. "You haven't been out yet, have you?"

"I went out for Hydra," Scott said. "I can handle myself."

"Then let's get you armored up too," Fury said with a nod. "I doubt you'd get out of Tahiti clean without a dozen questions. This will be quicker."

"Sounds good to me," Scott agreed with a sharp nod. "Faster the better."

* * *

It had taken hours, but finally Ronan had grown tired of playing with Kate and Steve after he'd dragged them to his chambers — for the time being. He'd already promised to be back for them in the morning and had told them to rest up so they'd be in good condition to put on a show for the cameras.

A while later, Ronan's guards dragged Logan to the cell with Steve, next to Kate's, and dropped him in a heap. He laid there as they'd left him until he heard Kate, in tears, whispering to him through the bars. Her voice was raspy from overuse, from outright sobbing for so long. At least now, cut down and left on the floor of a cell, her own body weight was no longer pulling on her dislocated shoulder and making it worse, but that didn't change the hours and hours before that of whimpering and crying that the boys had been forced to listen to.

Logan could barely pick up his head, but he made a point to work his way closer to the metal bars separating their cells, wincing and holding his breath as he crept across the concrete floor. Halfway to her, it was all he could do to keep from whimpering with every movement, and it was clear to both of them how much pain he was in from how he was shaking.

Steve tried to help him move, but from the sound that came out of Logan when he tried, it was doing him more harm than good, and he tried instead to look for some way that might make it easier somehow, but there wasn't anything of use. "Kate …" Steve said, looking helpless, even though he too, was pretty well battered. His right arm was broken, and he held it to his chest protectively. Bruises bloomed across his ribs, and he was wheezing like he used to before he'd gone through Tahiti. When he walked, he was clearly trying to keep weight off of his ankle.

Logan's knee was shattered — and he was pretty sure that the bone above it was broken too. He was bleeding from both wrists from how he'd been restrained, and his right wrist sounded like it had rocks in it as he moved. He didn't know if the pain in his chest was from a rib or the deep cuts and lash marks that Ronan had made across his entire torso. He was coated in blood from the neck down, and he couldn't scream anymore if he tried. But now, with his two partners, he felt worse, since he knew they'd heard every scream.

It felt like hours to Logan before he finally made it the few yards to the bars by Kate, and when he did, he slipped the rest of the way to the floor as he panted from the exertion of moving even that short distance. He laid flat, his crunching, injured wrist held to his chest as he shook all over.

"Trickshot," he rasped out in a nearly silent whisper, trying not to move his jaw as he spoke. "Don' … don't worry. Id'll be … alright," he promised, his eyes closed.

"It won't. It really won't, Logan," she gasped at him. " _Look_ at you."

"S'fine."

She sniffled loudly, and he recognized the heavy pants as she tried not to cry again. "D'you… d'you think the others know? Where we are, I mean?"

He tried to nod, but he didn't know if it came through right. He was sure that it must not have, because the next thing that happened was Kate reaching through the bars to grab his hand. His eyes popped open when she did, and he gripped her hand hard for a moment before he started mumbling to her on how it was going to be alright and how sacrifices had to be made. She seemed to get increasingly agitated at the word "sacrifices," though, so he let it drop and went back to telling her it would be okay.

It took her a few minutes before she realized that he was tapping a code to her … slow and steady so he wasn't misunderstood. _Fury's got it: jackass protocol._

She choked on half a laugh. "You know I don't… I don't know about that stuff. You're not making sense." But he kept tapping that same rhythm until his eyes drifted shut again and he finally passed out.

"Fury has to know, Kate," Steve reasoned. "He sent us out. He knew where we were going. The drones … he knows."

Kate kept her hand through the bars, resting on Logan's, even though he was no longer squeezing back. "Maybe they don't know," she whispered quietly. She couldn't explain it to Steve, not with how tired she was, but all she could think was that she'd once had to watch her friends die and she didn't want anyone else to have to suffer like that. "Maybe they won't tell them. Maybe they won't know. Maybe they won't watch."


	57. In the End, Thanos Sucks

**Chapter 57: In The End, Thanos Sucks.**

* * *

 _July 1: Formerly Reaping Day: Early Morning_

 _On the Way to the Capitol_

* * *

There were enough rebel forces that it was going to take nearly every plane and transport they had as Tahiti kids and old victors alike loaded up on the planes. Fury himself had joined the movement — and looked just as impressively dangerous as the rest of the Weapon X guys that had loaded up with him.

"Before we get too far into this, I want to make it plain," Fury said. "The objective for every person on our side is to save our guys — however we can, with as little loss of life on our part as possible." He paused and tried to take them all in one by one. "The remaining members of Weapon X are tasked with ensuring that our sniper that is already in place gets out in once piece as well."

Tony Stark was on board with what remained of the campfire kids and took it on himself to commandeer a monitor and tap into the Capitol feed — as if they needed Tivan's commentary to add to their nerves. But for as upsetting as it was to hear what the salivating commentator had to say about their friends, it was much worse when the feed cut away to show Thanos' three prisoners being dragged through the nondescript halls of the palace on their way to the big show.

" _Mein Gott_ ," Kurt whispered, pale and still, and even Tony's famous wit seemed to fail him as he opted for a single hiss. Peter made a grab for Kurt in case he needed help staying upright.

Kate looked … battered, was the best way to put it. Her hair was a mess, and there were tear streaks down her dirty face. Bruises littered her body, and from the way she was wincing and holding her arm, it was obvious something was very wrong with it.

Steve limped along, trying desperately to keep weight off of one foot, with an obviously broken arm. His hand on that arm was turning shades that couldn't possibly be healthy for anyone, and his clothes were a tattered mess of bloodstains and frayed ends.

Logan couldn't walk. Every inch of him but his face was bloodied, bruised, and, in some cases, oozing. There were burns and proof of all kinds of barbaric torture methods plain to see across his torso as they literally dragged him by his arms.

"Ronan," Stark said, as if any of them needed the name to supply to the images. "I...I've heard…" His attempts at filling the silence failed, and he sat back slightly in his seat.

"Kurt?" Peter was watching his friend carefully; Kurt and Skye were sitting close and staring at the screen with nearly identical expressions of sheer horror.

Kurt's mouth opened and closed for a moment before he balled his hands into fists to keep them from shaking with rage. "We're going to save them, Peter," he said simply. "That's why we're rallying the troops." He looked sharply at his companions. "We _will_ save them."

"You're damn right we will," Skye agreed looking far more serious than they'd seen from her before.

Tivan's commentary piqued as the guards moved the prisoners to a wide stage. Waiting for them were obvious shackles where they would be tied for all of Marvel to watch. Alongside the restraints were racks of all different methods of pain. Some of the devices looked positively frightening.

Fury was right. It was going to be very painful and very public.

"Are we… Are we gonna get there in time?" Peter asked quietly, and Tony refused to look at him.

The prisoners were tied to the spot … and even as he was chained in, Logan swayed and Tivan pointed out that his leg was likely broken before gleefully cackling on how it must have happened. Even from a distance, it was plain to see Logan couldn't quite catch a breath. Kate was nearby, and the way she winced when they put her arms up had Kurt holding his breath. Steve was on Kate's other side, and all three were angled so that they could see each other — the kids watching could see that Steve was saying something quietly to Kate, though when they tied in his broken arm, he went pale and quiet.

"We have a little time," Coulson said quietly from over their shoulder. "Not much, but they want a good crowd gathered before they start." '

"Can't we… go any faster or something?" Peter pressed, watching as Kurt seemed to struggle to control his own breathing at the sight of his best friend and girlfriend on the screen.

"We're throwing in everything, Peter," Coulson said, though even he looked concerned. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "If I could have gotten us there any sooner, I would have. Believe me." His tone was hard, and his jaw was clenched.

"We'll get there," Kurt said through his teeth, but he said it more like he was praying than as if he believed it. And Skye had gone back to staring at the screen as she fiddled with her gauntlets and bit her lip.

The real show on the screen began as the other players entered the stage. Ronan and his sister came out with a sneer on their faces as they walked past the pair of them, Gamora trailed her fingers over Steve's injured arm as she passed him. She stopped there, turning to Ronan, waiting for the show to start. Tivan's commentary became more hushed as Ronan started picking through his tools. If Logan's expression was anything to go by … he was going to make this hard on himself.

"Don't … no, don't have _that look,_ " Skye whispered, as Kurt beside her very quietly nodded his agreement to her sentiments.

Tivan narrated it, speaking in a very excited whisper as he walked his viewers through the process. "The accused will be given a chance to admit their crimes and beg forgiveness. Our dear Ronan will simply try to make it more attractive for the accused to admit their wrongdoings than to cling to their ill-fated rebellion."

"Turn it off," Peter whispered at the look on Kurt's face, but Kurt shook his head at Tony, unable to speak, his eyes shining with tears.

"We need to know — this is real-time, on-the-ground intel," Coulson said gently.

If they didn't know Ronan's true reputation, it very well could have looked for a moment as if he was doing as Tivan had said. He picked up one of the more menacing-looking objects and slowly approached Logan. There was no audio readily available for the fine, quiet words he seemed to whisper over Logan's shoulder. But as any one of them could have warned, Logan stubbornly glared at him in open defiance.

When Ronan passed him, he made a quick motion, and their friend's face twisted in pain before the scream tore itself from his throat. It only seemed to spur on Tivan's play by play. Ronan did his work quickly, and only after he'd spent some time there and Logan seemed out of screams did he take a moment to walk away and let Logan bleed while he 'thought' over his answers.

"I can't believe they're doing this on television," Peter said.

"They aired the Games on television. Not too different," Skye pointed out, though she had started crying without meaning to.

"It's a deterrent," Coulson said. "Or it's meant to be." He was staring not at the footage but at the kids around him and seemed to be sweating more than normal, if the way he kept dabbing at his forehead and tugging at his collar was any indication. Or maybe that was what 'agitated' looked like on the normally unflappable agent.

"How far are we, Coulson?" Kurt asked.

"Maybe five minutes out," Coulson replied as he watched Fury and the rest of Weapon X get up and start checking their gear.

"You can live through anything for five minutes if you put your mind to it," Tony whispered, mostly to himself.

"Sir?" Coulson said, watching as Fury double-checked the molle vest he was wearing and loaded his side arm.

"When I said all hands, did I stutter?" Fury replied. "All hands is all hands."

The footage on screen continued … the breaks between Ronan's abuses shrinking more and more as Logan's stubborn refusal to cooperate seemed to irritate Ronan more. They could see that Logan was saying _something_ , but whatever it was, it wasn't a confession — and he was looking at Kate when he said it. By the time they'd reached Capitol airspace, the renowned torturer had resorted to simply switching between working over Logan and Steve, with Kate's horrified sobs a fitting percussion to his rhythms.

"Enough television, guys — let's get them out," Coulson said solemnly.

First out of the plane, of course, was Fury and his little team — and they positively melted into the early morning shadows, obviously providing cover for the others to infiltrate. The rest of them broke off into natural groups, though it seemed that, at least for now, Skye was staying with Kurt and Peter, though Coulson only had to glance over his shoulder to see that Agent May had no intention of letting the girl out of her sight.

The kids and victors all broke off, rushing to find their designated spots, though it wasn't entirely clear to them why they weren't just swaming the stage. "Wait for Barton's signal," Fury's voice said over all of their comms. "Then it's a free-for-all until we get them out."

"What's his signal?" Peter whispered to Kurt.

"No idea," Kurt admitted. "But he wasn't with us on the way in."

"I did notice that. Guess the hawk couldn't wait to get to where his counterpart is," Peter muttered.

"The hawk was on a special task force," Skye said, though when the two boys looked her way with a raised eyebrow, she rolled her eyes. "I got … bored. Started … you know. Looking around."

"I'm sure it was a little more purposeful."

She flushed the slightest bit and kept her gaze forward. "Shut up."

Peter snickered quietly at that and shook his head, though he kept his mouth shut.

As they were settling into their spots, the audio broke through their earpieces with the hushed tones of Tivan announcing that the little victor had finally broken, and the three of them froze in their tracks. Through the speakers for the entire audience, Ronan's voice was finally heard. His tone held a false kindness that all of the teens jockeying into position simply didn't believe.

"Are you ready to admit your guilt?" it was a sickening purr, and Kate's sobs were clearly heard through the microphone.

Almost too quietly, Logan finally replied to him in a voice that was raspy, broken, and almost out of breath. "Not to you," Logan said softly.

"Keep your eyes open," Fury's voice echoed through the comms. "This is it."

"What's going on?" Peter asked in a rush, glancing from the stage to Skye… they were right there … why weren't they doing anything to stop this?

"Trust me," Coulson said simply. "This… just trust me, Peter. Please. Give it a moment." He must have been onto something, because suddenly, the whole crowd seemed to liven up, and scores of Nova Corp began to file out along the stage and through the audience.

Kurt and Peter looked totally confused at the display around them — and more so when from the back of the stage, a small entourage came out before Thanos himself. The crowd fell silent, and the president made his way halfway across the stage, a pleased smirk on his lips as he looked to his three prisoners.

Logan barely registered that Thanos was in front of him until he heard the president's voice. The microphones were all turned off on the stage to be sure that Thanos wasn't made a fool of — which was entirely possible, considering who he was dealing with.

"You're finally ready to admit your guilt and take your punishment," Thanos drawled slowly. "Good." Logan mumbled incoherently, and the hulking monster took a step closer. When Logan's head tipped downward, Thanos lost his patience and grabbed a fistful of his hair to haul his head up to look him in the face. "Confess, and I'll make it quick."

But they could all see…that just wasn't in the cards.

Logan locked eyes with him and glared with all the venom he had before he spit in Thanos' face — blood more than anything else — but it was more than enough of an insult.

Thanos drew back, and the gathered kids could see the flash of something sharp the very moment before there was a sharp _bang_ and Thanos simply froze for an instant and then _dropped_.

"That's the signal," Skye said as she tapped Kurt in the chest. "That's a subtle Hawkeye signal if I ever saw one." But the rest of them had all decided the same thing and dove into action.

Before even Ronan could move toward his prisoners, the Nova Corps sprang into action and pushed both him and Gamora back from the three restrained teenagers as pandemonium broke out all around them. The kids who had come with Coulson and Fury were rushing forward to reach the stage — far too close to the royals for the Nova Corps' comfort.

But the kids were close enough that the ones that were nearest the stage — the ones that had a _personal_ stake in it — got there first. In a rush, America had _tackled_ Gamora to the ground with what sounded like a roar of rage, and as Ronan tried to expedite his exit, he found himself stuck tight to the ground with some of Peter's webbing around his ankles and feet.

Clint was clearly still hard at work if the number of arrows finding their way into Nova Corps was any indication of things, and it was enough of an assault on them that Ronan found himself unguarded as Mac Hudson led the charge to start pounding on him. It wasn't until the third or fourth hit that Mac knocked him clean out of his boots, and the fight started up in earnest, with Peter webbing Ronan here and there and Kurt dodging in with his sword drawn after Ronan managed to hit Mac hard enough to knock him backward a few paces.

The fight was in close enough quarters that the Nova Corps couldn't get a clean shot at anyone fighting with Ronan, especially as Ronan bashed Kurt aside and Mac dove in instead, knocking him backwards into his own tray of horrific tools.

When the arrows stopped flying, though, the gunfire erupted, and Fury started to push his men — the three of them working seamlessly as they suppressed the Nova Corps' fire on Clint. "Deadpool — go get him outta there; we'll keep the both of you from getting shot," Fury called out, which of course was answered with an enthusiastic whoop as Wade holstered his weapons and started climbing.

He was muttering 'parkour, parkour, parkour' all the way up to Clint's perch, and when he got there to find Clint had been shot … "Oh, baby bird has a broken wing! C'mere, big guy," Wade said as he tried to physically force Clint to allow him to carry him down. "Couldn't find anything _higher_ or maybe I dunno … _harder to get down from_?" Wade complained as he smacked his hand on Clint's backside hard enough for Clint to flinch. "Don't worry. Ol' Wade has you."

He shimmied down carefully, though he was sure to inform Clint that he _was_ shimmying. "It's not the easiest move to pull off when you're carrying a hundred and seventy some pounds of injured blonde beefcake, let me tell you."

"Tough beans, Wade," Clint rasped over Wade's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm not mad about it; I'm just saying you're lucky I trained for just this scenario. Now, if you had more bandages, I could have tied you to my back like a Hello Kitty backpack? And then we could have slid down this thing like a fireman's pole."

"I'll prepare better next time," he replied.

Wade gasped with delight. "Oh! That means you _want me_ to do this with you again! No takesies backsies!"

Clint's response was more or less a long "uggh."

* * *

While Wade was getting Clint out of his perch and to medical attention, America had taken the last remaining princess in a tight hold and was _wailing_ on her with a particularly delighted grin on her face. She was doing a great job of redecorating Gamora's face — up until Gamora finally managed to get an opening and tried her best to slide a dagger into America's side. She got most of the way there, but Kitty had seen it coming and rushed in to help, pulling America back as she stomped on Gamora's arm to get her to drop the dagger.

As America insisted that she could still take on a whole army, Skye rushed in to help Kitty. Even after as much damage as America had dealt the green-skinned princess, she was still dangerous.

Gamora's right arm was useless after Kitty had crushed it under her boot, but she reached for another blade with her left, and this time, it was Skye who rushed in. She hadn't had the chance to use Tony's new toy yet, and she hadn't played with the fine tuning at all. Not that she was too concerned about that.

She put both of her hands to Gamora's shoulder, and the princess screamed out in agony as everything from her shoulder across to her sternum and down her arm _shattered_.

Kitty stepped back, a little wide-eyed on seeing the damage Skye had done, before she glanced down at the discarded blade and took a deep breath. "We're not like them," she muttered, grabbing up the knife to plunge it into Gamora's chest with as much strength behind the blow as she could before she twisted and pulled — making sure that it wasn't a torturous death, not like the royals had tried to pull on their friends.

* * *

When the group fighting Ronan started to make a little headway, Mac glanced over, shocked to see Scott fighting nearby with some of the yellow-headed guards. "Quit messing around with those creeps and get our guys loose," Mac directed.

As if to aide in the fight, Peter webbed up the guy that was fighting with Scott, and with a nod, Scott rushed over to start working on releasing the prisoners.

"Get Kate first," Steve directed. "Her arm …"

Scott glanced at Steve's hand but nodded as he made his way over to Kate and pulled a knife from the table of terrible things to cut the ropes that held her feet to the large, almost 'X' like crosses that held the three of them in place. He cut her injured arm loose first and tried to give her a strong shoulder to lean on as he cut her other arm loose. "Can you stand?" Scott asked, not even considering letting her go unless she said she could — and could prove it.

She didn't make a sound except to nod quietly, her eyes wide as she leaned on him to get to her feet, though she had to hold onto him until her feet weren't asleep.

As soon as she was stable-ish, Scott rushed to cut Steve loose too, even if he was still saying to go after Logan next — or stick with Kate. "I can't hold him upright on my own, and he can't stand," Scott pointed out.

Steve seemed to consider it for a moment before he let out his breath and nodded. "Then get help. I can't hold him up either," he said with what was clearly an attempt at self-deprecation.

Scott looked over to the ongoing fights. "Right. I'll get right on that. I'm sure it'll ease right up."

The closest fight to them was between Ronan and Mac, Peter, and Kurt — though the girls nearby were falling back from Gamora's body. Kitty was helping America — but Skye spotted Scott cutting down the others and rushed over with wide eyes to where Logan was as Scott helped Steve out of his last rope.

"'Bout time someone saved you for a change," Skye muttered to Logan as she started to cut the ropes around his feet.

Scott came over to help. "Steve said he can't stand on his own," Scott explained. "And Thanos did something … so Logan can't talk right."

Mac, however, had seen the damage on Logan, and he saw Skye and Scott trying to get him to answer questions — all of which took a lot of coaxing to get Logan to even focus and then more focus to reply with a nod or a shake of his head. With his jaw locked as he turned back to Ronan, Mac laid into him _hard._

Peter jumped at the first hit — and the resounding crack that went with it. Two more hits, and two more cracks, and it was easily apparent that something was severely wrong with Ronan's face as his jaw hung part way open.

Kurt had seen the move too, and he glanced to Logan for a moment before he very suddenly understood what Mac had done and nodded, taking a better grip on his sword to dart in after Mac took a step back and drive the very tip of his sword into the joint of Ronan's shoulder, rendering that arm completely useless — the same arm that he had done something to on Kate's side.

Before the two of them could get into it much deeper, the Nova Corps managed to drive them back — not entirely, but enough to surround Ronan and save his pitiful blue ass.

With Peter giving them cover, Mac and Kurt made their way over to the prisoners and stepped in to hold Logan up as Skye finished cutting the ropes loose. "Everyone find a friend; let's get these three the hell out of here," Mac said. He tried to simply pick Logan up, but Logan made it clear very quickly with what amounted to a moan that it was a bad idea as Steve explained what had happened and Mac shifted to a less jarring way to move his battered cousin.

Skye stuck close to Mac and Logan, halfway watching him and halfway keeping an eye out — ready to shatter anyone who tried to get between her and her lumberjack. Peter and Scott were holding up Steve between them and leading the way — with Scott glancing over his shoulder to keep track of the others as Kurt simply scooped Kate up, careful not to hold her on her bad side; she was easier to move that way.

The closer they got to their ride, the more apparent it was that they weren't quite out of the woods. But between Weapon X, Fury, Coulson, and Agent May providing heavy cover fire … No one was getting past that line unless they were invited.

Mac didn't wait to hear any orders from anyone once they were on board the plane and he quickly made his way to the medical side of things to come back with a dose of morphine for Logan — intent on trying to at least take the edge off until the docs could put him under.

Skye sat down next to Kate and Kurt and brought a dose for each of the other two injured captives with her. "Sorry, Hawkeye," she said. "No singing this trip." She handed the shot to _Kate_ rather than Kurt to give her the choice in it before she went to check on Steve too — since Mac was monopolizing Logan as he fretted.

Kurt was gently whispering something comforting in German as Kate curled into his lap on her good side. He was stroking her hair and watching Mac and Logan before he felt her tense for a second and then relax — she had given herself the shot.

As a quiet hush fell over the group gathered up in the fuselage, Fury finally made his way back. Clint had long ago been dosed with painkillers and was being monitored. All of medical was simply waiting for their return, and when he saw the empty doses near both Logan and Kate, he let out a sigh and sat down near Steve, who still was holding his.

"Can you tell me what happened, Cap?" Fury asked in an almost weary tone. "Just be clear and quick so you can take that shot too; I know you're waiting to tell me first, and I think everyone here deserves to know the truth."

Steve was still and pale but nodded quietly on hearing it. "Thanos and Ronan — they brought us to Thanos' office," he said in a quiet but steady tone. "They wanted to know where the base was. Who was in Tahiti — the doctors, the revived tributes, the victors."

"How much did they get?" Fury asked, fully expecting that the kids had cracked.

But to his surprise, Steve shook his head with a little smirk. "Nothing they could use. Logan drew the fire for most of it. He gave them Essex's name. Viper's play for all of us." He shook his head again and let out a long breath. "They asked about Quill, but he wasn't in the program, so we weren't lying when we said he wasn't brought back. That was when Thanos .. .did something to Logan's jaw."

"So Logan did what he could to mislead them and paid for it?" Fury asked.

Steve smirked the slightest bit. "Logan ran the show, sir," he said with a small nod. "He didn't even give them Essex until they started on Kate," he added, this time glancing Kate's way; she simply hadn't moved from where she was curled into Kurt.

"So why'd he mess with his jaw?" Fury asked, as Mac turned to hear what had happened.

"Logan kept answering with insults," Steve said. "He made them mad," he added, the smirk tugging harder on the corner of his mouth.

Fury raised his eyebrows at that. "And you know from firsthand experience how quickly he can get to whatever tweaks you, right?"

"At one point, he had Thanos at Ronan's throat," Steve said as he nodded. "It was quite the show."

"One I'm sure Peter Quill will be very happy to hear."

At that, Steve's smirk turned into a smile. "I'll bet."

"He'll be even happier to hear that he's a widower now," America said with a smirk of her own.

"Technically, he's still dead," Steve said. "Logan never gave him up. So it's good Quill didn't come along."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to lose the second-best Peter," Peter said with a small smile. "Especially since it sounds like the royals had it out for him."

"Probably still owes Logan booze or money," Mac said. "Can't let a man die with a tab to be paid."

"Sounds about right," Peter agreed, though the jet fell silent as, now that he'd made his report, Steve also got a shot of morphine — and everyone tried to get their breath back.

* * *

 _In the Palace_

* * *

Natasha had managed to get the SHIELD forces through Capitol airspace and close enough to the palace to do their jobs — but she hadn't gotten out. She hadn't had time; she hadn't found an opening that would let her get the SHIELD troops in _and_ give her an exit plan.

But as frustrating as it was to be stuck in the Capitol, Natasha was at least safe in the knowledge that she had covered her tracks. When the Nova Corps investigators traced her codes back, they would find that one of Gamora's aides, a particularly nasty woman who really should have been one of Ronan's lieutenants, had been the source of the leak of codes and routes that allowed SHIELD such quick and easy access.

But that also meant that, for the moment, the only information she had came from the Capitol broadcasts — which were cut off the moment Thanos fell. She had no way of knowing who all was there — who was alive or dead.

Still, it was a bit of a shock to see that it was only Ronan, badly injured, who came back from the ordeal alive. It was lucky for her — he very nearly trusted her — but it was still … frustrating. She had hoped that, of the three, if anyone had to live, it would be Gamora, who was at least something approaching reasonable.

Ronan was livid, yelling at the Nova Corps who tried to take him back to his own quarters, still aware enough to know that he wanted the _president's_ quarters, as was now his right. Yelling at the officers who tried to help him, yelling at just about everyone — including her, as he shouted for her to send for _his_ doctors — all of which was difficult to understand, considering the state of his jaw.

He had kicked everyone else out of the room when she returned with wide eyes to tell him, "The doctors are on their way." She paused and glanced up at him for an instant before she looked quickly back down. "Do you… need anything else?" she asked haltingly. _Like a knife in the back_ , she thought — though with the whole palace on high alert, she knew that wasn't going to happen. Not right now.

He paused and looked her over for a moment before he gestured for her to simply take a seat and wait. If she was to guess, it was to act as interpreter for him. But it wasn't long before he managed to find a tablet of paper and a pen, and he wrote out a simple message. _Find out the name of that man. I want to know who he is._ He also gave her the code to get into the video files so she could find who it was that Ronan was even talking about, as it seemed he knew that the feed had died early.

Natalie nodded very quickly as she stepped back to let the doctors do their work, relieved to have an excuse to rifle through the video files so she could find out what had happened for herself.

She didn't have much time to dig, though, considering that as soon as she saw who it was that had gone to pounding on Ronan, she knew it would be a quick match, all things considered. She didn't even get to see how the Tahiti kids had done getting out before facial recognition came up with a 98% match, complete with full name, badge number, and known family members.

She let out a sigh and got to her feet, taking the information with her and knowing that if Ronan found out that she had even hesitated to bring it, it would come back to bite her. So she found herself back at the presidential quarters, information in hand, as Ronan's doctors were stitching him back together.

"James Hudson," she said softly. "A former Sentinel from Seven."

He frowned on hearing the name and shook his head lightly. He picked up his pen and wrote out the last name with a question mark behind it.

She nodded. "Facial recognition came up with a 98% match. Badge number and everything."

He looked livid as he took up a fresh sheet of paper and wrote out his orders. The head of the Sentinels — the man responsible for assigning Sentinels to their districts — was to be executed immediately on grounds of conspiracy.

"I'll send out the order, sir," she said with a nod.

He snapped his fingers and handed her a second order — a reward for James Hudson. Much more lucrative if he was caught rather than killed.

Natasha paused on reading it. "Does this supercede the order for Wolverine, sir?"

He shook his head and wrote the number '2' next to Mac's name, then scribbled another little note: 'relatives'.

"I… didn't know that, sir. It's not in the system," she said honestly.

To that, Ronan smirked and wrote out _Elizabeth Hudson Howlett_ as all the explanation he needed.

She blinked at the words for a moment before she let out a small, faint laugh and shook her head. "And to think, they tried to keep it secret from _you_ , sir." She took the two orders in hand and very quickly rushed off to make sure they were set in motion — and that SHIELD knew Ronan was running things in the palace and out for blood.

* * *

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

Peter Quill had been a little annoyed that he had been stopped from going to the Capitol to be part of the rescue, but Fury had told him in no uncertain terms that the royals were still out for his blood and he was _not_ allowed to risk himself — or anyone around him. So… he was grounded for that mission, which meant he was all but hovering over Pepper's shoulder as she pulled up all the surveillance she could — Capitol and SHIELD and even, where Skye's programs made it available to her, Hydra surveillance.

The Capitol feeds had gone down when Thanos was shot, of course, but someone in SHIELD had known that something this big was going down — because there were plenty of cameras to choose from.

"Skye's probably going to put together another broadcast with this," Pepper remarked, though Quill could hear even from her tone that she was badly shaken by everything happening on the screen. "To prove Thanos is dead ... and to prove the others got out…" She was speaking mostly to herself, and wincing horribly whenever the cameras showed the three battered kids that the Capitol had tortured to make a point to the rebellion.

Quill nodded quietly, watching the feed as it came in. The kids were mostly concerned with getting their friends out — or providing the cover necessary to do that — so Quill was glad when Agent May was the one who had the sense to check for a pulse at Thanos' neck to be double sure he was dead. Clint's shot had been spectacular — right through the armor to sever his spine at the neck — but SHIELD wasn't going to leave it to chance.

It didn't feel real. Not entirely. After everything that had happened to him since winning the Games, after months of even _being_ a royal and every slow torture that had involved, it didn't feel entirely real to watch from the other end of a screen when the man responsible for all of it was lying on the stage, dead.

What's more, he could see America Chavez, along with Kitty and Skye, taking on Gamora, and he couldn't help but smirk at the way America was laying into the green-skinned woman. She hadn't taken the news that Gamora and Nebula had been planning to sell her off to Tivan well — and with Nebula dead, this was the best way for her to express her pure disgust with that. She was clearly enjoying herself working Gamora over — right up until she was stabbed.

And then ... Quill stared as Kitty and Skye rushed in. Kitty, who had been nothing but nice to him since he arrived in Tahiti, who was such a grounding force for everyone who had been brought back from her Games — _Kitty_ was the one to take one of Gamora's own blades and kill her with it.

There was so much else going on — the three prisoners being cut down, the fight with Ronan, the Nova Corps being pushed back, the chaos that was pretty much all of SHIELD fighting at once with the Capitol forces — but for a good long while, Quill was just focused on the screen that had Gamora on the stage, lying there in her own blood.

He just… couldn't believe it.

 _Thanos_ he could believe. For some reason, that was easier to process. He could absolutely deal with Thanos lying there on the stage with a bullet in his neck, but Gamora had always seemed so untouchable. Like she would forever be this horrible cloud hanging over his head for the rest of his life, like he could never escape her.

He hadn't worn his ring in months, not since he got out of the Capitol, but he could feel where it used to be on his left hand as he just… stared.

Pepper left the footage running for him, and she seemed to be aware of the fact that he hadn't quite come to terms with what he was watching, because she very gently got him started watching the playback of what had happened after Gamora's death once the mission was over and everyone was headed back — and once Quill had time to tear his gaze from his dead wife.

He wasn't mourning, either. That wasn't the word for it. Relief was a more appropriate word, but that didn't exactly cover everything he was feeling, either. He was just… in shock.

When the call came in that the jets from SHIELD were on their way in — with most of the people on board requiring medical attention, though of course, the three captives and Clint were highest priority — Quill rushed to the hangar so that he could be there when it came in.

He was still wide-eyed and watching as medical came swooping in to take care of the worst cases. Clint was unconscious and in a bad way — the Nova Corps had meant to kill him, and it was really a matter of how well he'd chosen his perch that he wasn't dead already. Logan was in horrible shape and was being rushed right to surgery. Both Kate and Steve were also placed on gurneys and rushed to medical, and Kurt basically rode the gurney with Kate for how attached she was to him in order to feel safer.

Quill watched the parade of the worst four as well as everyone else. America with her stab wound. Mac and Peter had taken a good pounding from their fight with Ronan. Almost every single person had taken at least one bullet in the vest at minimum. Coulson was moving a little slower, obviously bruised.

As everyone filed out, he could see it mirrored on their faces — no one else knew how they were supposed to feel about what had gone down either. The president was dead. That was worth celebrating, for sure. But not all the royals were gone, and what's more, three of their friends had been tortured in order to get there. They'd all seen and heard it, on live television.

There was no right way to feel about any of this.

Everyone on the jets seemed to be exiting in more or less an order of how hurt they were, so Quill was more than a little relieved to see that Kitty was one of the last off. She looked halfway shell-shocked, like she too wasn't sure what to think of what she'd done — but that didn't stop Quill from rushing right over to her.

He hadn't even thought about it, so he didn't think twice about tackling Kitty — literally taking her to the ground with him as he hugged the stuffing out of her. He didn't yet have the words for the relief and everything else that had been pumping through him since Gamora's death, but when she let out a surprised little laugh and hugged him right back, he somehow ended up kissing her while he was at it — warm, gentle, soft kisses broken up by near-gasps of relief.

* * *

 _July 1_

 _Undisclosed Location_

* * *

The transmission of Thanos' assassination was cut almost before the monarch could fall, but not before James Barnes saw the damage that his best friend in the world had suffered at the hands of the Capitol.

He'd been trying to place the young man's connection in his life since the spot had aired with Steve, Kate, and Logan. And something about seeing him there — tied to a giant 'x' and beaten, with obvious signs of torture — it had him trying to place the guy to the point that he was distracted.

He was having trouble concentrating on what he was being told by his handlers. He just kept going back to the battered blonde young man in his head.

He _knew_ that guy.


	58. Sunset Over Marvel

**Note: This is the last chapter of this volume. Watch this space for Volume 4: "Nothing's Fair in Love and War" soon!**

 **Chapter 58: "Sunset Over Marvel"**

* * *

 _July 2_

 _Tahiti Medical Wing_

* * *

Charles had been watching the three kids that had come in after their run in with Thanos, and while Logan was heavily sedated, and Steve was willing to talk, Kate was quiet and withdrawn — as was expected. He knew she'd need to open up and talk to someone, but he also knew she couldn't possibly be ready to do so yet.

So in the interest of keeping the doors open, he decided that his best option was to bring her coffee and sit quietly for a while, simply reading a book and passively watching her reactions. She seemed incredibly pleased by the coffee, though for the time being, it was clear that she was most comfortable when Kurt was in the room and she could just… lean into him and all but hide in his side.

Her right arm was well-bandaged and in a sling, and her fingers had been taped while they healed, and it didn't escape Charles attention that the young woman was doing everything _not_ to look at that side of herself. It was a debilitating problem for an archer to have — though as Charles understood it, the doctors were confident she could get full range of motion back, helped along, of course, by their miracle drugs. Outside of Tahiti, it would have been a much longer recovery.

He didn't push her, and in fact, he even made efforts to talk to Kurt instead to see how he was doing with things. "All things considered," Charles said. "Your best friend … have you been around to see him or Steve at all yet?"

"I stopped by to see Logan," Kurt said. "But he was still sedated when I saw him. Peter has been to see Steve, though, to … hear the full story."

"I should make that my next stop," Charles said. "When Logan wakes up, I'm sure the retelling will be sparse at best."

Kurt had to smirk at that. "Yes, even at full health, he is like that."

"You should both know that Director Fury is finding a safe place to let Kate take some leave when she's fully healed," Charles said. "He thought you both might like somewhere wide open, with water."

Kate picked up her head and had to smile at that and nod contentedly.

"It turns out that Odin was rather pleased with the results of that last mission, injuries notwithstanding, of course."

Kate smirked at that as Kurt just had to nod. "I think we all were," he said. "At least — at Thanos' downfall. Though we'd all agree the lead-up to it was…"

"Detestable," Charles said. "Everyone involved will be put on mandatory leave for now."

Kate frowned Charles' way. "Why?" she asked, sounding halfway betrayed.

He looked surprised at her tone. "You've all gone through a terrible ordeal," he said. "You need to rest and recharge away from all this." He leaned forward in his chair slightly. "Steve is planning to spend some well deserved time with his sweetheart."

Kate paused and seemed to think it over before she glanced at Kurt and broke into a tiny smile and nodded, leaning back into him with her eyes closed as she let out a little sigh.

"We appreciate it," Kurt told Charles as he subtly shifted so Kate could get more comfortable.

"Would Four be appropriate for the two of you?" Charles asked. "You can leave as early as next week."

Kurt glanced at Kate, and when she nodded her agreement, he smiled Charles' way. "That sounds lovely, thank you."

* * *

After Charles was gone, Kate made her way over to where Clint was recovering. Kurt had gone to get a shower and some food to bring back for both of them to shower, but in the meantime, Kate wanted to check on her fellow Hawkeye.

Clint was still pretty drugged up, though he wasn't entirely unconscious when Kate came to visit him. Instead, he smiled lightly when he saw her. "Hey, Katie-Kate."

Kate smiled softly at him. "You okay?"

Clint nodded. "I can't feel a thing, so I'm assuming not, but right now? Yeah, sure."

Kate shook her head at that and simply climbed up next to Clint, careful of the tender-looking bruises and the fact that it seemed he was wrapped nearly from the shoulders to the waist. She didn't say anything as she simply sat with him, and though Clint didn't say anything either, she though he appreciated the company, since he shifted over to sit shoulder-to-shoulder until he dropped back into a drug-hazy sleep.

* * *

 _July 8_

 _Tahiti Wing_

* * *

While Logan was healing, he'd been mostly sedated — since Medical knew that was the best way to keep him there — but the speed-healing drugs that Tahiti used were being put to use, and Logan was ready to be gone.

But before he could leave medical, Kate poked her head in with two mugs of coffee and a quiet 'hey there.'

He gave her a tired little smile and waved her in. "You all healed up yet?" he asked.

She raised her hand and waved his way as answer — the fingers still bandaged but usable. "Mmhmm."

"Good. I'd hate to have to go back and kick the crap out of someone for that."

She smiled at him softly as she sat down beside him and watched him over the top of her mug. She took a long, deep drink and then asked, "And you?"

"I'm fine," he said — as always, the response was automatic and without a lick of thought to it.

She gave him a look. "Logan."

"I'm breathing, aren't I?" he replied.

"Much better now," she pointed out.

"Well, sure," he said frowning at his mug. "Don't worry about me. You got more important things to concern yourself with." He glanced up for a moment. "Like a very shy Elf."

She couldn't help but smile as she nodded. "We're taking some time," she said. "Beaches in Four."

"Yeah? You gonna just hold his hands and put on some sappy background music while you color?"

She raised an eyebrow at him for that one. "No. We're not _kids_ , Logan."

"Well I was wondering. Since you've been together for... how long now? And there's just been the syrupy sweet stuff. Come on. What are your intentions with my Elf?"

"Only good ones," she said, bumping his shoulder. "And he's _my_ Elf."

"I gave him the name," he pointed out. "Try going a little further than moonlit strolls."

She let out a little laugh and rested her head on Logan's shoulder. "I don't want to break him."

"He could use a little breakin'. I thought he was gonna blush all the way to blue the way he was goin' the other day."

"What did you do to _my_ Elf?" she teased.

He shook his head. "He was tellin' me about 'the rules' — whatever the hell that means—- and givin' me a little flak. Or tryin' to. So I thought I'd find out how serious he was."

"And what'd he say?" Kate asked, grinning quietly.

"Mostly that if there's ever going to be any forward motion between you, you're gonna have to be the one to kick it off." He turned her way and gave her a look. "I suggest liquoring him up."

"That," she said with one eyebrow raised, "would be taking advantage."

"Exactly. He'll love it."

She smirked at him and shook her head. "I'd like to think I don't need _help_."

"And I'd like to think you two might get past the giddy bubbly stage before I die, but …"

"I happen to like the giddy bubbly stage," she said.

"You'll like the next one better," he replied. "Mostly because it involves lots of sleepovers."

She took a long sip of coffee. " _That_ is against the rules."

"I don't even know what you just said right now," he replied. "But it didn't make a damn bit of sense."

She had to laugh at that. "We've got a beach house to ourselves for a few weeks," she said after a moment. "And the promise that anyone who comes to Four looking for trouble will get cut down by all of the might of Four's warriors. Which, admittedly, would be fun."

"Oh, Odin. Got it. Little long-winded. Bet his warriors talk their enemies to death with a fan blowing their hair back."

"Well, someone has to look good around here," Kate teased. "You look like you've been asleep in a med bay for a week. _Oh wait_."

"Right. Shameful. I shoulda gone for two."

She smirked the slightest bit before she craned her neck to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, by the way."

"I didn't do anything, but you're welcome, if it gets you on the beach faster."

"Yeah you did," she said. "If it hadn't been for you… I'm sure they would have gotten what they were after." She had turned suddenly quiet as she leaned on his shoulder. "Sorry."

"You got nothin' to apologize for," he told her, though he didn't make a move to put his arm around her as he tipped his head her way. "You weren't trained to deal with that kinda heat."

"I'm the one that got you caught," she pointed out. "I didn't hear the Nova Corps."

"That's because they snuck up on you," he said with a little laugh. "Steve couldn't have made it out either. And with as many as there were? It was a matter of time. You didn't do anything to get us caught."

But she turned and buried her face in his shoulder, hiding her face from him as she muttered, "They made me … I called for you."

At that, he did finally wrap his arms around her and gave her a little squeeze, which seemed to set off a whole round of very quiet crying as she wrapped her arms around his middle "I'm glad you did. For as thick as they were, I thought they killed you."

Her breath hitched, and she held him tighter, just… letting it go as he didn't even try to shush her. Eventually, she did pick her head up, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Sorry," she muttered quietly.

"Stop that," he said. "You don't need to apologize to me for anything."

"I just … cried all over you."

"You're not the first," he pointed out. "I have that effect on people."

She smirked at him and shook her head. "They must know you're a secret softie," she teased him.

"Oh yeah, that's it," he said with a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, you're going to want to see Peter Quill before you go," Kate said as she got to her feet. "He's heard most of it from Steve, but I think he might tackle you."

"Why? is he gonna cry on me too?"

"No, but he laughed for like, two whole days when he heard half of what you were saying to the royals."

Logan had to smirk. "Why does he find it so funny when I piss them off?"

"I think they twisted his sense of humor while he was there."

"I think he likes when someone flips Thanos the bird to his face," Logan said. "But I'll be sure to catch him."

"Everybody likes that," Kate said.

"Yeah? You two looked like you were ready to slap me yourselves."

Kate paused and let out a sigh. "Yeah, well. You were just…" She glanced down at her hands. "You kept making it worse. On purpose? Which is really stupid."

"Kept most of their rage pointed at me instead of you. So, not stupid."

"You really didn't have to do that," she said.

"Sure I did. Steve wasn't hurt as bad as he could've been. And they more or less laid off you entirely."

She swallowed and nodded quietly. "Well… Ronan said… he knew I couldn't answer."

"But he knew I could. And he got too emotional about it. So … I took as much as they'd give me."

She wrapped her arms around him in another hug. "You... " She let out a breath. "Just ... thanks."

"Go kiss an Elf," he told her after he gave her a hug right back.

The two of them had hardly hit the hallway, though, before they were joined by a _very_ enthusiastic Peter Quill, who rushed over to Logan as soon as the two of them had left the room to pick up the shorter young man in a crushing hug, all while declaring, "That was _beautiful_."

"So you didn't see it then," Logan remarked. "Cuz it was pretty damn ugly."

"You took down Thanos _and_ Gamora, so I'm going to have to disagree," Quill said, shaking his head.

"Only thing I did was bleed; you're looking at the wrong guy."

Kate leaned over Logan's shoulder with a little smirk. "He already kissed Kitty for the Gamora thing; be grateful."

"Of course he kissed Kitty; his mistress just killed his wife." Logan had to smirk slightly. "It's definitely a kissable offense."

Quill laughed at that as he set Logan down. "Hey, someone else pulled the trigger, but still."

"Just make sure you kiss _him_ ," Logan suggested.

Quill snorted at that. "Yeah, I'm good. Already kissed the one I wanted to." He clapped a hand on Logan's shoulder and grinned at him for a second before he seemed to look a little closer. "Whatever the docs do around here, it must work miracles," he added."You only look half ugly."

"Then you must be on drugs too," Logan replied. "Just used a boatload of that crap to heal me up quicker. And … replaced a knee. Fun."

"Yeah… Thanos had a mean swing," Quill said with a grimace.

"And a nasty kick," Logan agreed. "Wasn't expecting him to join in like that."

"I've only seen him do it once," Quill admitted. "Besides you, I mean." He rubbed the back of his neck as he added, "Pretty sure he was headed that way with me before Groot and Drax stepped in. And lemme tell you — I don't envy you one bit."

"One good thing about it: not a damn person in the country is going to be expecting to see the three of us out at all any time soon. Drugs or no."

"Yeah, I heard about the mandated vacations. It's well-earned," Quill said with a nod before a crooked grin started to spread. "Don't worry — I'll hold down the fort around here."

"Good," he agreed. "Not sure when they're going to let you out, though. We made sure they think you're still dead."

"I heard about that too." Quill looked a bit more serious as he glanced Logan's way. "Thanks for that. Seriously."

"As satisfying as it was to call him every rotten name I could think of, lying to his face that close was more fun." Logan said. "Especially when he bought it."

Quill grinned. "Yeah, he's not nearly as smart as he likes to think he is ... or… was."

"I'm gonna count it as I'm that good of a liar," Logan argued.

"True," Quill said, his head tipped to the side. "And you piss 'em off that bad, too."

"It's a talent," he replied. "So … go back to … celebrating with your sweet little mistress. I'm going to go hide in the woods for a while."

Quill waved him off with a grin. "See ya 'round."

* * *

 _July 10_

 _The Presidential Palace_

* * *

Technically, Natalie's position hadn't changed. She was still secretary to the president. What had changed was the fact that the president was now Ronan — and that he still required a translator more often than not.

He had, after _many_ takes, addressed the nation and claimed the throne for his own, but that seemed to be about as much talking as he could handle for the time being. Part of that was likely because he spent so much of his time simply being livid.

The truth of the matter was that the throne he claimed was much less powerful than his father's. It just _was_. After seeing Thanos fall on live television, most of the outer districts had joined either SHIELD or Hydra — so Ronan's domain was significantly less than he wanted it to be. Which meant the subjects of most of his ire were his generals — as he demanded the districts be brought to heel and forcibly taken back from SHIELD or Hydra.

It wasn't just a matter of pride, either — with the districts free or serving other masters, the Capitol was suddenly forced to reckon with the fact that it didn't have the same access to the resources it was used to having in abundance. And shortages on top of everything else definitely didn't do a thing to help Ronan's mood. He was almost sulking.

On the one hand, this meant that Natalie wasn't being yelled at, no matter how livid he was — because yelling would require him to work his healing jaw. On the other, it meant that she was serving as translator, scribe, and just about everything else for the new, petulant president.

"The latest reports, sir," she said as she slipped into the office, and he hardly even looked up.

He frowned deeply. Very little of what was in the reports was something that could even vaguely qualify as a surprise. Naturally, the entirety of Seven was fractured from the country, as was Four, though it seemed that neither wanted anything to do with either SHIELD or HYDRA, for that matter. It wasn't a consideration of who they wanted to run things … it was a solid rejection of all the players. Six was, of course, solidly in Hydra's grasp, as was Five.

But Eleven had gone the other way, as had Eight and Nine. He had of course retained One through Three, but Ten and Twelve were in the wind.

"It can't stay this way for long," Natalie said, shaking her head. "This is just…"

He gave her a look and let out a little noise of derision before he handed her the report back and made it clear that he wanted to be alone.

* * *

 _July 13_

 _The beaches of District Four_

* * *

It was the perfect lazy kind of morning — though morning was slowly creeping toward afternoon, and still neither Kate nor Kurt were particularly inclined to go anywhere. They could hear the gentle wash of the waves outside their window, and even through the curtains, the sun was warm and bright.

But despite the sea breeze and the perfect weather, neither of them were moving. Kate had her head on Kurt's chest and the sheets pulled up just below her shoulders, and Kurt was lazily playing with her hair, twisting strands of it in his fingers.

Technically, there were two queen beds in the place — separate bedrooms, even, if they wanted them. But they hadn't even made up the second bed since they arrived, and as far as Kate was concerned, they never would. She'd gotten used to having him there when she woke up every morning for the past nearly two weeks — first in Medical and now here.

And Kurt — Kurt loved falling asleep with one arm around Kate and waking up well before her to watch her losing battle with drowsiness every morning until coffee.

Charles had been right — this break was good for them. Both of them.

There was a gentle knock on their door that was followed by a now familiar voice as Sif came around to check on them. "We're expecting a storm," she told them. "And I am certain that you have never seen the gales that sometimes plague our homelands."

Kate and Kurt glanced at each other, and finally, grudgingly, Kurt threw back the sheets to let Sif in with a frown. "It looks perfectly sunny outside," he said with one eyebrow raised.

"Not if you look beyond the window and out to sea," she replied with a raised eyebrow of her own. "It is building — and quickly."

He followed her gaze to see the dark shadow on the horizon and then simply let out a breath and nodded. "Where can we find shelter?"

"I'm afraid we'll need to abandon our surfside view," she replied.

"Lead the way," he replied.

The two of them followed Sif up toward the main part of town, further in from the beach and to higher ground. Most of Four's residents seemed to be headed the same direction, getting someplace sturdier and further from the growing waves. By the time they got to the house further in, where the cement wavebreakers had been put in place to keep the district from washing away, the wind had picked up, and the sky was steadily darkening. It had happened fast.

The three of them, along with Steve and Peggy and a few others, took shelter there, and as the wind raged outside — it was actually sturdy and safe inside.

"I don't think you guys had a chance to meet Peggy yet, did you?" Steve asked as they moved to the more central rooms of the shelter. "She just got in before they aired that spot with Trish."

Kate and Kurt glanced at each other and had to grin. "We've heard a lot about you," Kurt said with a smile as he extended his hand to Peggy.

"A lot," Kate added, nodding fervently.

"Funny; I haven't heard a thing about you," Peggy said with a smirk. "From Steve anyhow."

"Well, why would Steve be talking about _us_ when he's with _you_?" Kate said, though she did shoot Steve a look that said they would be talking about his lack of the proper awe for her later.

"I just assumed he'd have something to say about someone sooner or later," she teased Steve's way before she offered Kate her hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I've been watching the work you've been doing."

"And hopefully, you don't think any less of me," Kate said with a small smirk.

"Peggy's been leading the resistance in Five," Steve said over her shoulder.

Kurt beamed at her. "Really? Fighting back against Hydra, then?"

"And anyone else stupid enough to cross us," she agreed.

"Sounds perfect," Kate said, shooting Steve a wide grin.

When the little group got settled in a little better and Kate started talking shop with Peggy about Hydra, Steve had to pull Kurt aside. "So. Did you propose yet?"

Kurt looked flabbergasted for a moment. "What… no, I … what?"

"You're kidding me right? What are you waiting for? They handed us the perfect setting on a silver platter," Steve said, looking honestly shocked. "I asked her second night in when that one sunset was so … orange. I've never seen quite that color before."

"It was beautiful," Kurt had to agree, though he was flushed pink and staring at Steve. "Then… I suppose congratulations are in order. That's wonderful news."

Steve grinned for a moment. "Yeah, thanks. It really is." He leaned in a little closer. "So … when are you going to ask her?"

"I… hadn't exactly… that wasn't something I'd considered…"

"We almost _died_ , Kurt. Again."

Kurt let out a breath and nodded. "And I'm incredibly grateful that you didn't. All of you," he had to agree. "But are you sure that's a good reason ... I mean… you've only _just_ seen her again..."

"I've known I loved her for years," Steve said. "I don't see any reason to wait."

Kurt just blinked at Steve for a moment and slowly shook his head. "That makes perfect sense for the two of you," he said at last.

"And you," Steve said. "It's been a couple years for you too, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has," Kurt admitted. "I just ... hadn't thought that far ahead, to be honest."

"Well it's something to think about anyhow," Steve said as Kate bounded over to tackle Steve almost out of his chair.

" _Congratulations!_ " Kate gushed at Steve, beaming too broadly for words.

Steve grinned and gave her a quick hug before she could quite let him go. "I know; it feels like it was long overdue."

Kate laughed at that as she finally let him up. "Feels like that — but you've been dead, so…"

"Yeah, well. As far as she was concerned, anyhow. I was still carrying my torch," he pointed out.

Kate nodded fervently and glanced over at Peggy. "He's right, you know. He was _pining_. It was _adorable_."

"I'm sure it was," Peggy agreed as she joined the trio. "He has that about him from time to time."

The storm was still raging outside, but in the little shelter, it might as well have been a bright and sunny day for as excited as the four of them were — with Kate and Kurt getting to know Peggy a little better and warm congratulations being repeatedly passed around the more excited they got about the whole idea. Hours later, when the storm did finally pass, all four of them were so deep in conversation that they very nearly didn't notice, too engrossed in looking forward to a much happier future.

* * *

 _July 16_

 _Hydra Base_

* * *

Bobbi watched with her most disinterested expression as the Hydra personnel recorded their latest propaganda piece — this time with J. Jonah Jameson making a stirring, harsh critique of the Tahiti program. The man was a passionate speaker — he'd clearly missed his calling being an escort instead of going after Tivan's job — and had a whole speech prepared on how not only were these untrained kids menaces to themselves and the districts with how recklessly they were running into things (and getting themselves caught) but how SHIELD should be taken to task for the horrendous treatment those children had endured.

Everyone had seen what had happened to the three who had been taken by the Capitol, so it was easy to make the argument that SHIELD just wasn't protecting their _child fighters_ well enough.

Jameson ranted and turned purple colors and looked so utterly, _morally_ offended that it was convincing if you didn't know the truth, really.

That was the genius of the whole thing — anyone on the outside would absolutely see the logic in his arguments. He was the perfect face for Hydra for the moment since the loss of Silver Fox and everything else that had happened in the meantime.

Bobbi watched the whole thing halfway leaned against the doorway, her arms folded over her chest. She felt a little sick, honestly, though her expression didn't betray her in the slightest. She'd been the one assigned to Jameson, and under Viper's tutelage, she'd been the one to break him, brainwash him, turn him into the mouthpiece for Hydra.

Everything that man was saying against SHIELD and those kids — all of it was being given to him. They were pulling him on puppet strings, and Bobbi was the one to put those strings on him.

Sure, she'd sent Fury detailed reports on everything she had done so that SHIELD knew the brainwashing process and could get to work on how to break it — but that didn't change the fact that she had, with her own two hands, done that to another person.

When the TV spot was finished and the cameras turned off, the purple color faded from Jameson's face, and he looked almost … blank as he turned Bobbi's way. She tipped her head at him for a moment and then nodded — permission for him to leave and go back to his quarters. She stepped back as he passed her and watched him for a moment, schooling her expression hard.

"You should be proud," Viper told her from a dark corner before she stepped into the light. "He was perfect."

"A little unhinged in the ranting, I thought," Bobbi said with a small frown.

"It came through as passionate," Viper replied.

Bobbi let out a breath and turned toward her mentor with a shrug. "It must be easier to see from your end. I've been bogged down in the details so long I can only see the faults."

"But that's what makes you so good for this job," Viper told her. "It's the details that can kill you — as you well know."

Bobbi let out a small breath of a laugh. "It's what keeps you and I alive," she agreed. "In this so-called man's world."

"Let them think what they must," she said with a wave. "But we should prepare; we have work to get done."

"Someone else you have in mind for me?" Bobbi asked with one eyebrow raised.

"For us," she replied. "But we have to set the trap first."

* * *

 _July 18_

 _District Seven_

* * *

It had been almost a week that Logan and Skye had been camping in the mountains, and it was apparent to Logan that it was time that she found something a little softer to sleep on than deep moss. So they made their way off the mountain as mist rolled off of the peaks thickly, obscuring much of the path and hiding anything but what was directly in front of them.

It was almost noon by the time they hit the trail that led to both the cut and the main street of town, and they were enjoying the much easier travel on that wide road when they were spotted by Smitty and Michael on their way in.

"Where are you headed?" Smitty called out as they came a little closer. "You shouldn't be in town when you're on a rest."

"Going to the house," Logan told him. "Can only take the princess out in the woods for so long before she starts lettin' her upbringing show an' gets grumpy."

Skye rolled her eyes at that. "Not _that_ grumpy," she said, but her grumbly tone betrayed the lack of sleep anyway.

"Well that's too bad for the princess then," Smitty replied. "We got a message for you from some higher-up in SHIELD. You can't go to your place until they clear it. New threats or somethin' — they don't want you there."

Logan let out a little sigh but couldn't help but smirk at the look of betrayal on Skye's face. "I'm sure I can come up with another option if I have to," he said, but Smitty was already shaking his head.

"I got the boys bringing a bunch of stuff out to the old cabin on the lake," he said. "No one will bug you there. Not with all of 'em watching your back."

"That okay with you, Director?" Logan said in a teasing tone.

Skye couldn't help but roll her eyes again. "Sounds fine to me as long as there's a bed."

"That _would_ be your concern," he said quietly as Michael was already leading the way.

"Hey." She pointed a finger his way. "You're the one calling me a princess. If that's the case, I need a mattress. No peas."

"There's a shower out there too," he told her. "You're gonna get spoiled."

She laughed. "Be still my heart," she teased.

When they got out to the little log cabin, she had to take the scene in: there were at least a dozen guys working to set them up with whatever they needed, from supplies to fresh blankets and dry firewood. And every one of them seemed more than a little bit happy to see Logan up and about as they introduced themselves to Skye on the way out and tried to give him a hard time one way or another.

"See you two in a week or so," Smitty said as he and Michael were the last to go.

Skye had to smirk over Logan's shoulder as the lumberjacks left. "What, did you _plan_ a parade for me?" she teased.

"No, but I'm sure they'd oblige you if that's what you wanted," he replied. "Just be careful what you wish for."

She chuckled and shook her head, wrapping her arms around his middle. "I think I'm happy with the one I got, but I'll let you know if that changes," she laughed.

"Oh sure, you say that now," he countered.

"What, you think the parading would change that?"

"I think time and distance from the whole base might change that. You haven't been out of wifi for this long before."

She had to laugh and nod her agreement. "Yeah, I'm going through a _little_ withdrawal," she admitted. "But on the other hand? I'm really enjoying _not_ having to worry about all that… everything."

"Does that include the mess I made?" he had to ask. "Cause I'm pretty sure Tony can handle things until you get tired of this."

"The mess _Thanos_ made, and yeah, Tony's handling that part," she said with a sigh. "Which is nice — I really didn't want to have to relive that crap."

"Well, what would you like to do first?" Logan asked. "Shower or sleep?"

"Shower," she said decisively. "I'm not sleeping in dirt any longer than I have to."

He nodded and gave her the quick tour and grabbed a towel for himself. "Meet you in a little while then."


End file.
